Here she sits, a mint (for her age) 1976 Holiday 15’ model.
All original and 1 owner, where the family is now on the 3rd generation enjoying the boat. The only issue is, the transom has now gone soft. The boat was in VA on any Army base, where they even have a boatyard and boat ramp to the Potomac River and I had enjoyed a nice day out on the water (‘brown’ water that it is, LOL!) there. Pulling it back onto the trailer is when I said to the owner/Petty Officer ... “Uhhhh, sir, are you aware that the transom is shot? She shouldn’t flex like that”.
Well lo & behold I said ‘if you can get to me in Boston ... I’ll fix it for you’. We had flown down there to see family, as he’s the husband of my wife’s favorite cousin. And son of a gun ... not months later he drives it into my driveway. So, dissecting it over the Winter I came to the conclusion that this year/vintage Starcraft would be a very straight forward transom wood replacement. There were no welds to break and only at one sport on each side what the top gunnel in the way of getting the old wood outta there. Luckily I’ve annealed tin boats before, so I annealed those side ends and the pieces bent up like butter, making the repair easy to happen.
I’m more of a picture guy, so I’ll let the pictures tell the story. The new exterior ply will be coated with multiple thin coats on the edge grain, and interior faces, then epoxied together with a layer of biaxial cloth in-between.
Note in the one picture that I marked all the ‘through holes’ in the rear transom tin skin directly onto the plywood. Those holes will be drilled over-size, i.e., using a > ½” hole to cover a ¼” bolt, then wetted out with thin epoxy and filled with a thickened epoxy once the wet coat ‘kicks’ (tacky, or means is curing). This will leave a permanent and waterproof ‘plug’ of epoxy where the bolts go through.
All original and 1 owner, where the family is now on the 3rd generation enjoying the boat. The only issue is, the transom has now gone soft. The boat was in VA on any Army base, where they even have a boatyard and boat ramp to the Potomac River and I had enjoyed a nice day out on the water (‘brown’ water that it is, LOL!) there. Pulling it back onto the trailer is when I said to the owner/Petty Officer ... “Uhhhh, sir, are you aware that the transom is shot? She shouldn’t flex like that”.
Well lo & behold I said ‘if you can get to me in Boston ... I’ll fix it for you’. We had flown down there to see family, as he’s the husband of my wife’s favorite cousin. And son of a gun ... not months later he drives it into my driveway. So, dissecting it over the Winter I came to the conclusion that this year/vintage Starcraft would be a very straight forward transom wood replacement. There were no welds to break and only at one sport on each side what the top gunnel in the way of getting the old wood outta there. Luckily I’ve annealed tin boats before, so I annealed those side ends and the pieces bent up like butter, making the repair easy to happen.
I’m more of a picture guy, so I’ll let the pictures tell the story. The new exterior ply will be coated with multiple thin coats on the edge grain, and interior faces, then epoxied together with a layer of biaxial cloth in-between.
Note in the one picture that I marked all the ‘through holes’ in the rear transom tin skin directly onto the plywood. Those holes will be drilled over-size, i.e., using a > ½” hole to cover a ¼” bolt, then wetted out with thin epoxy and filled with a thickened epoxy once the wet coat ‘kicks’ (tacky, or means is curing). This will leave a permanent and waterproof ‘plug’ of epoxy where the bolts go through.
. I'll trim the excess goop (LifeCaulk by BoatLife) off with a sharp knife when cured. This product is amazing, can even be sanded or applied underwater ... cheaper than 3M 5200 too and lasts 2-3X longer in the tube. 
