TOPIC: dont use transom handles as tiedowns

after i took off the handles for lifting ,off of the transom on the sunray,i found that someone had used them as tiedowns while it was being trailered,which left indents in the fiberglass,im going out now to work on them,ive been up since 4 am,working on it,and am going back out now,im running out of time to get it painted.

John, I put 3/8 transom rings in mine. They have a double rectangular washer outside and inside. I sealed them with 5200. They ain't ever comin out!

I been up since 4:40, and got the tach hooked up. Got to grab breakfast and get to work. Start the old merc up tonight after work and make sure the tach works.

Frank

well its 10;30 am,i just came into the house for a break,i filled the indented spots with cloth and resin,then fiberglass jelly resin to smooth it all out,at least i got a good look at the wood in the transom,its in great shape.
just the fiberglass is indented where the motor plate and motor attached,plus where the grab handles go.
im putting handles back on,but ill do like you did frank,or i may just use a strap over the gunwhales with padding.after the jelly dries and i sand it down and give it one more coat,im going tackle the splashwell,its in good shape except for where the handles where and it has rust from the nuts that were used,for some reason all of the bolts on the entire boat are stainless steel,but the nuts were not.

i always used the grab handles. no indents in mine...YET. OOPS MY MISTAKE--i forgot about the rings till i saw the pic..can't delete it.

lol,ron those sanding pads all over the ground look like the floor in my garage,they sure dont last long.

You guys and yer power sanders. Be tough, hand sand!

Frank

lol,i had to hand sand most of it ,the whole darn boat is nothing but round and curved,but im gaining on it,i started at 6 am took 2 small breaks for coffee and quit at 6:30 pm,my arms are sore,but its looking better,still have more to do just on the splashwell alone.the sad part is all this work is going to be covered with a splashwell cover,lol.

the sad part is all this work is going to be covered with a splashwell cover,lol.

Don't be "sad" John, that cover gives it a nice, finsihed look, IMHO.

yeah mark,it took me a long time to make that cover too,lol,i still have to get a couple of wrinkles outof it.and thank you

My Aqua Ray has the D rings, not the handles. I have handles for the Tomahawk, but I haven't put them on yet. Interesting and valuable point.

Custom Craft seems to be notorious for using steel screws and steel nuts (as well as some steel bolts). I have replaced most all of them on the Aqua Ray and will do the rest while I'm finishing the floor project.

In places where I was putting an SS screw or bolt through aluminum, I was concerned about the reaction that the two metals might have (pitting of the Al, etc) I got as thin a plastic washer as I could find, one size smaller than the screw/bolt. I put this on the screw/bolt under the screw head to keep it from touching the aluminum. Being one size smaller, it is approximately the same diameter as the the screw head, so it is not noticeable.

john-gibson wrote:

yeah mark,it took me a long time to make that cover too,lol,i still have to get a couple of wrinkles outof it.and thank you

That splashwell cover is fantastic John. I love it. Very cool idea.

thanks 71 and nice to meet ya,i still have to take the heat gun to it to get rid of some of the wrinkles.
tudor i know what you mean the bolts that held the motor were aluminum and the nuts were steel,we even had to brake off one of bolts to get the motor off.

Don't ya just love it? I can't tell you how many boats I came in possession of that had steel stuff, and steel & aluminum fasteners combined.

Looking forward to seeing ya in Silver Lake!

Frank