Transom replacement

Discussion forum for the Otter class of sailing dinghy

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Pom
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 9:07 pm

Transom replacement

Post by Pom »

Hi all

I am new to sailing (excluding pre-teens mucking about on the river) so found a nice little otter to sail. From the information i could find they are forgiving mistresses and more child friendly than the majority of sailing dinghys out there. Mine is Number 255 i believe (The previous owner supplied the unmatched sails).

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I am booked on to a couple of courses over the summer to learn to sail and hope to get my sons involved as soon as possible (6 and 8 ). I have oars and am buying a little outboard so all the family can putle arround with me.

But....... I need to replace the wooden part of the transom as it is pretty degraded and may not cope with the 3.3hp outboard i am bidding for. Either way i need to do a bit of wood work to get it up to scratch. Should i replace both internal and external wood like for like? The bit that supports the rudder on the inside is my main concern so i am thinking of putting a wider peice (12- 18" instead of 4") and re-GRPing over it. does it sound like plan or madness?

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Oh and for those asking about rigging. The Very kind chap who sold me the boat showed me how he used to set it up and it all looks very simple. So here is the best picture i could get.

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Cheers All

Pom

ben
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri May 15, 2009 8:31 am

Re: Transom replacement

Post by ben »

Picked up an Otter today, sail number 1128 and am looking forward to sailing it this week sometime for the first time. The previous owner took me through rigging it before I set off this afternoon and I'm pretty sure that yours has been modified to a centre main, rather than aft main as original. It looks like the block with the main sheet pulley just behind the centreboard has been added - at least I assume so as mine is newer and is aft main and all looks original. Seems like quite a practical and easy way of converting aft to centre main though. The rigging on mine is very much like the mirror I've got except on a bermudan rig, same stays, same main sheet arrangement, same jib. Happy to post pics when I put it all up again next week if anyone is struggling with an aft main rigged boat. Can't wait to get started on her now, looks like a nice boat all ready to go! Many thanks to those who posted on this board too - it's been my guide while choosing a boat and very helpful.

Ben

ss007
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:27 am

Re: Transom replacement

Post by ss007 »

Pom

Otter 640

I woud suggest that you do renew the ply wood on the inside, my boat was used with an electric outboard that was very light and didn't have a plate inside. This has caused the GRP to distort so I imagine that a heavier motor would cause significant damage.

Steven

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