Some transom work coming up for my CP 23

[BruceW]

Well, I have 2 things to do:

a. raise the motor mount back where it goes. PO lowered it because he had a short small motor. I want the mount to let the Sailpro I have clear the top of the transom so I can tilt it prperly. I can wait, since what I do now is adequate. I tilt the motor as much as I can, and put a block of wood under it to hold it there.

b. I have no boarding ladder permanently mounted to the transom. A friend is sending me one he found in a boat he bought. When I get it, I will need to mount it.


Another friend told me to add in a hatch to the inside of the transome so I can reach where the bolts will come through, and do the install. I thin that would be good. I haven't done this before, but I guess I could put one in for each job, or should I put in one long one to handle both?

I also guess it would be more expensive to put in a hatch to do the job; but hey, I don't think I"ll fit in the seat lockers to do the job without it.

Ideas? Experiences?

[Salty19]

I certainly don't look forward to the day where I would need to gain access to that area on our CP19.  You might have a little more room on the 23, but not much!

If I were tasked with this I would get my 12yr old niece to help out. Maybe get a skinny kid to climb in there, put the backing plates on and turn the nuts for you (or hold while you torque them from outside).

I don't like the idea of hatches on the transom. Not to say it can't be done.  There is plywood there so you'll have to really seal up the hole well with epoxy and then seal the hatches extremely well to avoid any risk of eventual rot.  Eventually you'll have to go back in there to reseal the hatches too.  Not trying to talk you out of it, but maybe there are better options.

What about putting the hatches on the aft cockpit seat area, or up against the aft coaming, or maybe down along the aft horizontal cockpit foot well area? Would your arm be able to reach through to put the backing plates, sealant and nuts on from these locations? On my CP19 this looks doable. You could use a long socket extension to get in there to turn the bolts. Then the hatches could be used to store little stuff with easy access (keys, wallet, sailing gloves, etc). A lot of the hatches can be bought with little bags for this purpose, or DIY a nice storage nook.

Like the skinny kid idea the best!

[BruceW]

Skinny kid idea is a good one. If my long-armed son was around, I'd get him.

Meanwhile, the other locations you are suggesting sound like they would be worth considering. I'd really rather not cut the holes anyway.

Thanks!

[MHardy]

Bruce,
A few years ago, Keith Scott did some glass repair work on my 16's transom and put in the hatch shown below. While it doesn't look great, it allowed the access needed.

[hockeyfool]

I replaced an old motormount( with roughly the same hole spacing )and added a swin ladder as well, wife helped me as I laid upside down inserting 5200 and plywood backing plates; so yes
you can do it this way . No Need to cut big holes for an inspection access plate.

[BruceW]

Mark, Keith is actually the one who said he puts the inspection ports in. I don't necessarily like that one, but it looks like it would work.

Hockey, well, I may try it that way for the motor mount, since it has the holes already in. What happened was, they took the mount off, and put the top bolts where the bottom holes were, and drilled some more holes for the bottom bolts. I think I can reverse this. There's a bit more room on the port side. I guess that's going to tell me if I can stand it or not.

Looking around the area for the skinny kid though.

[Bob23]

   When changing the gudgeon, I installed an inspection port like the one in Mhardy's picture but I put it below the gas tank cover so it's out of sight. It's never leaked and there was plenty of room to work.   The first winter I owned my 23 and before I installed the port, I had to go down the starboard storage locker to install a bilge pump hose. Taking into account that I'm not quite as slender as I once was and I had some winter clothes on, I actually got myself stuck halfway in. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get myself out but I could have easily gone further in! It was a bit of a panic as no one was home at the time and I had no cell phone within reach. I remember thinking, "I'm gonna be the first person to die aboard my Compac 23 and it's not even in the water"
   As it turned out, I'm still here to be a real  annoyance to you guys!!! Haha!!!
Bob23

[BruceW]

Bob, that's a cool idea. The port, not the getting stuck, although since it happened, I am sorry I wasn't there to see it.

So, I wonder if a rectangular one would allow me to get to both sides. Since you have seen how it is there, what do you think?

[MacGyver]

Gents, after doing all that work on my 19 (in case you are reading this and dont know, complete redo) I would again shimmy back into the back recesses just so I didnt add a unsightly port, or what not on these pretty boats.
I have seen a 16 with the ports put into the seats, and seen things like above, but that is not me. I always think, what would the next owner want to see there as once you drill a hole, repair will never look the same.

That being said, If you do the job right, with solid planning, you only have to shimmy to the back maybe 2 times. And I would recommend going in through the berths, not the top hatch. Clear the boat out to have plenty of space and start venturing in with the hatches open for air flow. Shimmy back out is the hardest part.

The kid idea is great if they have a brain and some braun. You want to be sure your fastners are tight, and most kids nowadays arent that smart to know about those things yet, let alone to move their hand in case of possible crushing between the wrench and the item. It is mainly my opinion due to their inexperience with things in life.

It truly isnt bad, and the end result is a lot less headache worrying about a hatch leaking, into the core of the assembly, rotting the boat out.

Mac

[Bob23]

Bruce:
   Using the round port under the gas tank cover, I had no problem getting to either side of the transom to access the motor mount or the boarding ladder. It may still be nice to have a very small friend go down into the storage area to work together with someone going in through the access port. I don't like the idea of seeing an inspection port above the seating area-looks bad to me.
   Bob23

[BruceW]

Well, Mac, I appreciate your points. I could perhaps make it back in there for the motor mount. However, the battery compartment is in the way for the ladder side. Last time I was really small enough for this, I was 10, and probably not strong enough, to go along with your point about the skinny kid idea.

Bob, I think you've answered my main concern; I found a rectangular hatch for 70 bucks. ouch. Seems good but I was just hoping to save some money. I could put a hole in under the gas tank cover, and it wouldn't show. I may see what kind of used hatch I can find at the consignment shop.

Thanks, all!

[Bob23]

Bruce:
  The rectangular hatch may give you more access room. 70 clams....well sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. My round one wasn't that much but it doesn't give me the room that yours may. Of course, not having to be completely waterproof, I could have just cut a big rectangular hole and made a screw on wood hatch cover. Hmm...wonder why I didn't think of that before?
Bob23

[BruceW]

I could see the wooden cover; maybe a temporary plywood one. I'll be at the boat this weekend, take measurements, see what I can find. Not sure when the ladder will arrive, but even then, there will be time to procrastinate over the plans. I sure appreciate the ideas!