Building a Molded swim deck with Transon door

Truegrain

New Member
Jul 16, 2015
19
Perry fl
Boat Info
SeaRay Srv 300 fly bridge
Engines
Twin 350s inboards
Hello,

I purchased a 1979 SeaRay srv 300 last April with the intent of completely gutting it, rebuilding, and re-powering.
I am wanting the boat to look more modern with A traditional teak holly feel. So far this project has come along nicely and hopefully by next year she will be in the big blue. Im not sure how economic this is however I just like the look and strength of the old classic SeaRay hulls.

I am wanting to glass up/carbon fiber a molded swim platform
with a transom door and do not want to do anything that will unbalance or weaken the structural integrity. I'm not trying to slap something together and want to make sure it's done right.

My glass guy thinks it will be no problem however I've been steered wrong before.

I'm sure most of you guys have much more knowledge than me. What are your thoughts, and have you seen this done before to an older SeaRay?

Thanks,
Patrick.
 
With enough time, money and experience anything is possible. But if the transom notch (for the door) is done improperly, you risk structural problems. It all comes down to the experience and "know-how" of the person doing the fiberglass work. I think I remember seeing a post from about a week ago with similar questions - you might want to search for that and see what the responses were.
 
And while building a molded platform sounds like a good idea I would talk to Scott Samuelson at Swim Platforms, Inc. I know it would not be molded to the hull but it would look very traditional....like the boat. I know Scott and if you still wanted to do something molded he could probably still help you.
 
With enough time, money and experience anything is possible. But if the transom notch (for the door) is done improperly, you risk structural problems. It all comes down to the experience and "know-how" of the person doing the fiberglass work. I think I remember seeing a post from about a week ago with similar questions - you might want to search for that and see what the responses were.


I think that post was me in a different category.lol

I have called 2 fiberglass shops and a boat builder so Hopefully I have a good
grasp on doing it properly. I will post pics as I start the process.
 
And while building a molded platform sounds like a good idea I would talk to Scott Samuelson at Swim Platforms, Inc. I know it would not be molded to the hull but it would look very traditional....like the boat. I know Scott and if you still wanted to do something molded he could probably still help you.

Thats another concern. I'm not sure if the molding swim platform wouldn't take away from the traditional look of the boat. Before I make a decision on that I need for someone to put this idea in AutoCAD.
 
Update. So 7 years later here we are.
 

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Geez… so you weren’t part of building Rome :)…… gitter r done
 
A lot has happened in the last seven years I've done a lot of thinking and change a few things.
Went from wanting to install rebuilt 350s and building a swim platform with a transom door to building a transom bracket for outboards and possibly a transom door.
 
I'm no stranger to being away from Club Sea Ray and returning years later :)

Maybe I'm a bit picky here, not having done any calculations, but...

It appears the "bracket" is just epoxy welded to the outer transom skin. I see you have additional bracing on the inside, but that does not help attach the bracket to the transom. You're depending entirely on a pretty old transom skin to plywood bonding, not to mention the new bonding itself.

IMO, a better approach would have been to extend your stringer structure through the transom, supporting your bracket loads.

Twin engines are going to be in the range of 1200+ pounds with a moment arm the length of your bracket setback. Very high loads on this structure just by weight and g force, and that's before you get into the loading from the power itself.
 
I'm no stranger to being away from Club Sea Ray and returning years later :)

Maybe I'm a bit picky here, not having done any calculations, but...

It appears the "bracket" is just epoxy welded to the outer transom skin. I see you have additional bracing on the inside, but that does not help attach the bracket to the transom. You're depending entirely on a pretty old transom skin to plywood bonding, not to mention the new bonding itself.

IMO, a better approach would have been to extend your stringer structure through the transom, supporting your bracket loads.

Twin engines are going to be in the range of 1200+ pounds with a moment arm the length of your bracket setback. Very high loads on this structure just by weight and g force, and that's before you get into the loading from the power itself.


I'm with you, Barry. I would also be concerned that the factory transom is strong enough on its own to support the additional forces, even if there was a better mechanical bond between it and the new bracket.

I would want the whole thing substantially and mechanically tied into stringers, hull bottom, original transom, and gunwales.

Rough seas and two big outboards pushing off that... would worry me.

Truegrain, you obviously have extensive skills. Do you have a naval architect involved in the design and calcs? I could be wrong in my fears.
 
My guess is the transom in perfect condition is not strong enough to support 1200+ pounds 3 foot or so back from the transom when the g forces are accounted for. From Sea Ray, mine is 2 inches thick, 2 x 3/4 ply plus 1/4 glass each side. For my bracket to hold a single outboard 30" back I'm going with 4 x 3/4 ply, plus the 1/4 glass for a total thickness of 3.5 inches. I will also tie the sole into the transom plus add the stringer extensions to tie the three together. That will be slight overkill, but I expect it to be just as good 2-3 decades from now.

I have seen pictures of and read about outboard bracket failure. If it just starts leaking you're lucky.

If it's good enough great, but I'd prefer to find out now if not.
 
Last edited:

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