Fixin' the Big Woody
 

We were up at Mark's place today fixing the water-damage on the Big Woody. Got it all cut out, cleaned up and a new [piece of plywood on and letting the epoxy dry for a few days before Mark gets back on it. I think it came out well. Once the bottom is done and we flip it back over, we're gonna change the top-side a little. A center console and a bench/storage seat, after we flush up the deck.

We'll be out whoopin' you guys on Shelbyville for sure!

Where's the pics?

Yeah! Where are the pictures? :hit:

:D

I was too lazy to post them.

Some of the damage stretched about 3 1/2' from the transom.




Here, we were lifting the boat off the trailer.









And here were flipping it over, just a little at a time...



And here's where we started cutting all the bad areas out, 4' from the transom, from one side to to the other.

I didn't take any of it opened up, and I didn't take any with the new piece in place.

well what kind of photographer are you ? (didnt take all the pics) i feel ripped off

I'm pretty excited about the fix. Kind of a wood transplant for my big woody. This should take care of a few other nagging problems also.

Hey Bulzeye, I tried emailing you, it wouldn't go through. Don't have your number. I just can't spend the money on an outboard right now. Anybody here interested in a 35 hp long shaft, tiller, evinrude? I had it for a couple of years. Ran awesome. It pulled me up on skis. Will need a tuneup. Bulzeye can make you a great deal.

Mark, Try emailing him again. I accidently killed our club email accounts for about 24 hours. They should work now. My bad.

That looks like the Epoxy just not stick. (apart from the structural damage) Is that the case? Was there something more that would have made it stick better? Primer or just a rougher surface?


Me too Tracy, Me too! :action-smiley-099: :p

So how much did you add? Was it just more stiffening ribs or did you beef up the transom as well?

The whole problem was after I put the bottom sheets of plywood on, I added another piece in the middle where the generator sat. I didn't get the pieced sealed good enough and I had water infiltration from the inside of the boat out after water sat in the bilge area. Where you see the paint peeling was a bad epoxy mix. I thought we got the gooey stuff off, but once a little bit of moisture hit it the problem grew. The transom has held up great and I don't think I'll worry about that. I am going to add some keels to the bottom to help with the steering. I don't enjoy running straight down the river with the boat pointed at the shoreline, especially when another boat is headed straight towards me! I think I'm going to change the seating arrangement and try to do away with the footwell. I've got a couple of stress cracks in the top deck this should fix.

By the way, I'm thinking about starting a small business on the side building aluminum jons. Think there's a market out there? They'd be completely custom ordered with fans and decks if interested. I could only handle a few every winter.

Wow! There was more to that damage than I imagined. Did you use epoxy rated for 50 mph? heh heh
It appears that having a crane can come in handy.

Good luck with the project guys.

Mark,
Thanks for letting me know.
Never got the email. I think it was sabotage. :confused0024:

Thanks for fixing the email problem Christine. :kiss:
I'll smack you later.

I like the picture of the boat flipping over. You can clearly see where you keep your fish bucket is all clean and all the dried blood spatter around it, lol.

LMAO!! Looks like a really big fly smacked into it.

And BTW, welcome to the forum Frank.

Thanks! Good to be here :biggrin:

Hi Frank! Welcome!

Thanks Christine! :wave:

Got a little carried away with just fixing the bottom.

Awwwww CMON Mark......Now your gonna BLOW your BIG WOODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That looks great! I didn't realize you painted everything too.

"FANtastic" Mark! :woot: