Raising O/B well in Seafarer

[Paikea]

Some years ago I owned an early model Seafarer Viking. A lovely boat that had been maintained in a pristine condition by the previous owner.

As an inveterate tinkerer I like nothing better than "pimping" a boat. Great way to relax after a tough day at work. Unfortunately just when I have finished all that I can add to a boat, I find a bigger/better one that I like better and end up selling my "pimped" boat to start all over again with the latest find.

My good wife has a long held belief that a boat is just a hole in the water that I pour money into. Hard to argue that for anyone afflicted with the boat owners disease.

The Viking looked a treat before I sold it, rocket launcher, game chair, F/G seat boxes with storage, bait board, heaps of rod holders, a later model motor, Lowrance sounder/GPS and a filled in transom to overcome water coming over the forward part of the outboard well when backing the boat.

This is what she looked like when finished:

The following pics show the original outboard well and the raised one complete with a transom door and boarding ladder. It worked faultlessly:

Following are some pics showing how the transom was filled in.

I first made a mould from melamine board. It has a smooth finish that results in the finished infill having an equally smooth finish. I learnt how to make the FG piece from studying the net.

The finished piece, shown as an offcut in this pic was sized to fit over 50 mm thick timber pieces bolted to the top and sides of the original well and bedded down on glass epoxy. Will never move!

The fill in piece was then trimmed to suit and screwed onto the wooden pieces.

The final result looked like this:

I hope that the pics etc may be of use to someone thinking of filling in a transom or doing other FG work on a boat. It is not hard. The hardest part is detaching your elbows from your ears after applying the glass. it is very messy. Use strong hospital grade gloves and watch for any bits getting in places where they shouldn't be.

I almost forgot, after I finished glassing the fill in in place I had a professional paint the fill in to match the existing. Cost a few dollars but worth it.

Cheers

Paikea