RJ hit a major milestone this morning when, after finally excising all the rotted material from the lower portion of Knock on Wood’s transom, he finished fabricating the new white oak bottom frame plank.
His attention then turned to the thee upright transom frame members, each of which was rotted at its lower end, indicating that, since they were not sealed with CPES, and given how fiberglassing the exterior and plugging the drain hole trapped it, water wicked up through the ends of the planks. Two can be saved, but be sure to pay attention to the third one.
Rap it with a hammer on the outside and you get a nice dead-hit response. Given all the rest of the rot in the area, RJ probed into the end of this third frame member. His drill bit, which he held in his hand, simply disappeared 8” into the plank. It might have gone further, but there was no point in further testing. This plank must be replaced.
Bottom line: the extent of the destruction and the repair cost visited on this transom by slapping fiberglass on its exterior is mounting exponentially.
Truly fiberglass is not the friend of wood boats or their owners!
Vintage Boat Preservation
