The Transom
I decided that the transom was next. Ned Hamlin suggested that I read and re-read the original plans and review how he replaced his transom that was shown on the web. He felt the transom was the most difficult to replace. My Dad called every day for a week and finally asked what the holdup was - apparently work was not an excuse. Tom Regan made the suggestion to make patterns and try to fit the transom in without tearing everything out. The suggestions worked.
Tom advised me to hang in there and that the fun was putting it back together... and that whenever you open up a wood boat, more work is revealed. Yep, I was in for a lot of "fun." The good news is the Sande Ace is only 13ft long.
I pulled the transom out and one of the stringers was rotted completely though. I was able to fish a new one in and using the old knee make three new transom knees which almost everyone recommended. I used the patterns and fitted the transom with new marine plywood.
The Seattle area is blessed with a number of wooden boat builders so materials were not a problem to find. Edensaw in Kent, and Dunn Lumber and Crosscut in Seattle had the wood material that I needed. Tom Regan strongly suggested that West System epoxy be used. If you make a mistake, you can take it apart with heat.
The transom of the Ace was constructed in three pieces. There was an inner frame (shown below) which was covered by a solid transom backing. A smaller outer frame piece was used at the bottom for strength and to help seal out water.
The transom quarterknees.
The inner frame was rebuilt.
The fit of the solid transom backing was checked.
The excess material has been removed and the smaller outer frame piece has been added at the bottom.
11-ply 3/4-inch marine plywood!
Here are those two outer transom knees which the Sandes left out.
