re: best epoxy/resin fiberglass for fixing a boat hull?

Ive replaced a number of transoms, both composite and wood, so here's some advice you can either take or leave.



Make a template of the transom before you alter anything (clamps/plywood/pencil),
this will give you the peace of mind knowing that you have the true dimensions if anything were to go fricky during the project.

Leave the outer glass skin intact

Remove the rotten wood with a grinder/air chisel/router from the inner side of the transom. Routers work well because you can control your depth, i.e. not bust through the glass on the outer side. Once the space becomes too tight to use the router, use your air chisel and work towards the tight interior edges.

Once youve removed the rotten wood, you have several options of replacing the structure. The first is the tried and true method of laying up several layers of plywood with heavy roving/chop strand in alternating layers. This works, but I would use a Coosa Composite if I were you. Its more expensive but it will never rot, and you can order it in a 1" thickness, this will save you a lot of time and materials.

The newer method, and the one I recommend, would be using a pourable transom. Youtube is your friend, but this will save you a lot of time.

Also, if you're going to do other repairs that dont require large areas to wet out with epoxy/glass, then don't buy a bunch of epoxy and filler to mix (small cracks, structural pieces prior to glassing, etc).

Instead, use West System Six10, it's a pre-thickened epoxy that comes in a tube. The first squirt often isn't mixed correctly, so lay a 3" bead of it onto a paper plate and save it for later (I usually just throw it away). The Six10 works great and save you hours on grinding/sanding drips/sags/runs caused by conventional application. Tape your edges and apply like caulk. Total Boat Company makes a comparable product to Six10 called Thixo, it also works well.

Good luck, baw

The rebuild went on the back burner due to getting married/moving/etc but I've been playing with it. Been experimenting with carbon fiber tubing layups for the poling platform and grab bars. Also bought some ekoa fabric to layup on the outside of the hull instead of painting it to make it look wooden

At this point, for the money, I probably could have bought a friggin whipray but I'm not splashing it until it's reached a point I'm happy with