TOPIC: It's been about 10 years.....

Around 2003 I joined this site (using a long forgotten username) because I was beginning to restore a 1969-1970 Starcraft V180.

I replaced stringers and floor and new interior and wiring. The old original 1969 Johnson 115hp was coaxed back to life. Since then, I've added a 1988 Johnson 15hp kicker.

The core of the transom was wet, but not rotten. I was afraid to remove the motor and replace transom.....I was a green rookie. Someone on here proposed that I drill a bunch of holes from inside the boat, through the thin inner skin of glass and through the plywood core....stopping once I hit the thick outer glass. I used a 1/4" bit with a stop on it and proceeded to drill a few hundred holes in the transom. I used a squirt bottle filled with acetone and sprayed the solvent in each of the holes every morning and evening for a week to dry out the core. I then thinned out some uncatalyzed epoxy and used a syringe to squirt in epoxy into each hole. I did this until the core was saturated with thin epoxy that never had hardner added to it. I then mixed up a hot batch of epoxy with extra hardner and squirted this into all the holes with a syringe and all the epoxy polymerized.

I am here to report that this has worked.

The boat has been on Lake St. Clair for a few seasons now.....used for musky fishing. It's made many 25 mile runs in 2-3 footers with a kicker hanging off the transom going 20-30 mph......the boat has taken a beating and the transom has held up nicely.

Thank you for all the help fellas.

Here she is.....photos taken a few weeks ago.

I asked a lot of questions and you guys answered them all.

There was a lot of skeptics about the transom repair. I remembered coming here and I just wanted to report back that it worked, incase anyone else ever wanted to try it this method.

There was a few guys on here that didn't think this boat was a "classic" and thought that I was wasting my time putting so much time and money into this old boat....because it would never be worth much of anything. It wasn't about value to me, more about a project and having fun and learning.

Several fellas defended my efforts (I wish I could remember who now), and the build thread and advice kept pouring in.

I am just grateful for a site like this. I've tried to find my old thread, but I can't seem to. I wanted to go back and re-read all the posts I made, and everyone's reponses, just for fun.

Welcome back and as long as you love your boat it is a classic. Feel free to post. I'm glad to hear all is well with the boat.

Great looking boat, and looks like you keep her in tip top shape.

Phishin,

WELCOME BACK.

yours, satx

That right there is what makes forums cool. Unfortunately you always get a few of the Nay Sayers that usually dont have a clue. Nice thing about these guys is that they tend to be consistent and never have anything positive to add, once you figure out who they are they are easily ignored. LOL Thanks for the post and up date, and glad the efforts worked out! Too bad you cant find the original thread. It would be nice to finalize it with your success.

I didn't come on here though tp put it in anyone's face or to do anything like that.

Actually, I wanted to post these real world results for anyone who might want to try this type of transom repair on their restoration project. Most of the real "glassics" on here aren't taken out on the water 40-50 days a year, all day long....have a big 115HP and a 15HP kicker strapped to the transom....and are taken across a lake that is shallow and 30 miles across (therefore, it can be very rough water).

The repair/restoration of the transom has worked out very well for me. It could save someone weeks or months of work from tearing the top off their boat, doing lots of cutting, etc. etc.

Like we all know and realize, the beauty and value of running a boat that we brought back from the dead cannot be put into words, and even though my boat lacks fins or anything stylistically significant, I enjoy the same satisfaction. I love putting 50" muskies in the boat that I rebuilt and learned on.

Nearly every weekend, I put my life in my own hands trusting the work I did and learned about on this forum....and she is holding together nicely.

Thank you once again!!

Phishin,
Welcome back and thanks for posting the results, always good to know there's more than one way to skin a cat so to speak. The boat looks great! By the way. I grew up in Shelby township and our family use to cruise lake St. Claire all the time with the boat in my avatar. It was my grandfathers. We use to put in at Metropolitan beach a lot. Dad use to take us to Sand Island, Strawberry Island, etc etc. I think I even have an old hand drawn map of the lakes and where to put in. Use to got to Putin(sp) Bay also.

Bob

Bob,

I live in Angola, IN and my brother who lives in Indianapoils, recently bought a house on the north channel near Algonac. It's right across the channel from Harsen's Island.

I love LSC. I keep my boat at THE ORIGINAL Chris Craft Factory. My brother keeps his boats there also. We love that beautiful blue water and all the great boating that can be had in that area.

He keeps a 36' Tiara up there and we also have several "bass style" fishing boats for musky fishing as well. It's our true addiction...musky fishing. Boating is one as well.

If you're ever up there and want to go out for a ride, let me know.

Steve

Thanks Steve, I've thought about bringing mine back there to run for old times sake. We use to go to Harsen's Island also. If I get back that way I'll let you know and maybe take you up on the ride.

Bob