Screw and glue
The inner edge flange, which covered the "V" and the "II" and visible below "Solomons, MD" in the picture, is screwed into the transom with SS screws. This only holds the inner lip to the transom. The outer edge is held in place by SS bolts through a fiberglass flange hidden inside the tail. These bolts are what really hold the tail on and I had no problem with the attachment. Installation took two people (one me) about 6 hours to bolt the tail on. We did this out of the water but it is possible to do it in the water. If you are smart, you will do it on the hard. I tried covering the screw heads on the inner edge flange with filler and gel coat. I ended up letting the marina finish the job I goobered up. The outer edge just had a joint filled with sealant between the hull and the tail. Originally, I was going to smooth this joint out and cover it with blue vinyl tape. Eric and I badgered Tom enough to have him help us glass the tails into the hull this past Memorial Day weekend. Unless you look close at the hull, you can not tell now that the tail was an add-on. The gel coat match is O.K. but my hull yellowed a lot more than a new boat (or tail) was. Tom did a great job matching the gel color and blending in the old hull to the new tail when we glassed it in. That is one of the reasons he is so busy. Do not know how much Tom will ask for a new tail now. All told, I spent several thousand dollars all told. This was for the tail, installation, marina work and the glassing in this year but I feel it cost me less than a new boat would. What you do with the tail depends on what you will put up with and how much you can do yourself or afford a marina to do. I know I would do it again. It made the boat a whole lot more fun to use and I am glad I did it! DJ
