I got the bow nose all fixed as seen in the other thread and after doing a leak test found she was was blowing bubbles worse than Ted Kennedy after a bender out the transom end from the deck seam. You can see in the PICs the seam is well-separated. I scraped out some filler someone had put in at some point. It looks like they ground a triangle shape before filling but it obviously didn't hold and now I have to fix it right. It's the just the transom flange that needs to be fixed as the rest of the boat looks good.
Questions:
1) Will that gudgeon come off as long as I don't take all the screws out so I can repair the underside of the flange right above the gudgeon?
2 Should I take an E-cut saw to the seam and clean it out and then inject thickened epoxy and clamp?
You can take out all 4 screws from the stainless gudgeon bracket as there is an internal threaded aluminum back-up plate fiberglassed into the inside of the transom. Clean out any debris between the deck and hull joint, fill the gap with thickened epoxy and clamp with lots of spring clamps. Let cure. Sand then do another leak test before re-installing the aluminum trim.
You can take out all 4 screws from the stainless gudgeon bracket as there is an internal threaded aluminum back-up plate fiberglassed into the inside of the transom. Clean out any debris between the deck and hull joint, fill the gap with thickened epoxy and clamp with lots of spring clamps. Let cure. Sand then do another leak test before re-installing the aluminum trim.
My attempt at repairing the stern seam separation. Cleaned the flange very well with 80 grit and got all the old goo out. Chased a hacksaw blade in the seam at the out extremities to get to clean fiberglass. I didn't have any Thixo so I thickened some resin with Cabosil, sucked it into a hobby syringe and did my best to inject it into the seam, then clamped with a bunch of clamps, several which may be stuck there forever now from the squeeze-out
Yes, I suspected it would be much tougher to sand. I don't use it much. I have a diamond wheel and diamond grinding tools for the dremel if things get ugly.
42 year-old Sunfish has come a long way and the leaks are fixed and passed it's final leak test. Getting ready to put the trim back on. What do you guys use to seal the rudder bracket bolts?