Transom/Sternblock troubles

[HankD]

Hello everyone, I've been lurking here for a while and thought now would be a good time to introduce myself and ask a few questions since I've bumped into something that makes me keep tilting my head mumbling "that can't be right".

I was trying to get the deck on my boat this afternoon and it seems like the deck is too short but double checking proved it was exactly as long as it should be. With the deck tacked at the stem and the transom tacked to the deck a gap has opened at the top of the sternblock that i think is large enough for concern, but not too large too bondo. Tommorow i plan to fasten the deck down permanantly but before i do i'm wondering if I may have gotten a measurement wrong and need to double back or if this is a fairly common issue.

[ken connors]

What are you building and how wide is your gap? I would consider epoxying in a sliver of wood before slathering in bondo. BTW Im inherently biased against using bondo on boats just cuz when i grew up it was for dented cars. If anyone has info that bondo is really suited for wooden boats, I will try to keep an open mind. I dont want to hijack this thread, so any bondo cheerleaders might want to start another.

[PAR]

Bondo has many things about it that make it unsuitable for marine use. It absorbs moisture, it doesn't stick all that well to wood and it will vibrate off the boat in time. Don't use Bondo, mix up some epoxy with a filler. Material choices for a filler depend on the properties you need, depending on the task; adhesive, fillets, impact resistance, fire proofing, UV resistance, slippery surface, fairing, etc. Since you're in need of a scabbed in section of decking, you should error toward the structural bonding type of filler mix (Cab-O-Sil will work). You can smear some micro balloons over it latter to really smooth it out nice.

[HankD]

ug, sorry it's been a long day. The boat is the weekender. I was really just using the word bondo instead of saying "filler". I haven't really decided what type of filler i'll use. I'll probably use epoxy + wood flour since i have both on hand

I'm really just curious if the weekender's transom is supposed to be curved from bottom to top as well as from port to starboard. If that makes any sense. I'm not sure if i need to scab in a peice of deck or adjust the angle of the sternblock. I'll be making some final checks on it tommorow and pushing forward.

[Dave R1]

Hank, if you cut the transom according the plans, the deck should sit down below the top edge by an inch or so. I don't recall the exact dimension but it is marked on the plan. If you are trying to get the deck to meet the top edge of the transom it would appear short.

I looked at a 3D drawing I did some time ago fo my Weekender and it shows the deck meeting the transom at the corners, 19" above the lower corner of the transom.

The transom should not be curved vertically, though.

[HankD]

Thanks for the replies, I had taken into account for the extended transom my problem turned out to be the 3\8 recess in the stem for the deck to sit in. My stem is about an inch longer than it should be so measuring for the recess from the front made the whole deck an inch too far forward. after a little readjusting the transom looks much better but im gonna double check a few more things before moving on.

[Dave R1]

Glad you got it worked out. A little piece of plywood will fil that gap in the stem notch and you'll be all set.