Tying into transom

Installment 30 of Mako Project

With all the stringers laid in the hull, we had one last order of business to tidy up this installation. From outside the hull, Mike added some tie-in strips of quadraxial cloth.





To tie the stringers into the transom, Mike cut some 14 inch long quadraxial strips to size and attached them to top and 8 inch strips to sides of each stringer and stiffener. We wet out with epoxy and brush and rolled it out with laminating roller. A fourth strip saddled the tabs in place over the stringer.




Because these stringers are already quite high, adding knees to the transom is unnecessary (nor is there much room for them). We'll lock these tabs in place with one more layer of 24 oz 0°-90° inside the transom. This final layer will build up sufficient transom thickness for to carry the heavy outboard.



We had some time to spare with Scott and Mike before their ticket back to the Florida sun. In all, the stringer and stiffener installation took less than one business day to complete using the Preform system, not too shabby. We are extremely grateful for all their help and insight, and very impressed with the results.

The next day, with the epoxy cured dry to the touch, we rolled this old boat out into the light of day, the first time she'd seen the sun since the stringers were removed. She holds her shape with no sagging. Walking around inside the boat or rolling her over bumpy pavement, she feels rock solid, no more walking on eggshells.