I bought a handrail off e-bay on wed. and it arrived today. Excellent service from USPS and the e-bay seller. The only issue is a crack in the front bracket. That's not a problem because my original rail's front bracket is in good shape. Here is the new rail with the original rail in the background.
The new rail came from a CVX 16 OB and the only difference seems to be the center bracket is 6 in. further back than the one for the CVX 18.
Here the new rail is in the foreground leaning against the starboard rail.
Getting back to work I removed the transom plate and gimbal housing.
The wood around the cutout seems solid but tapping on the transom reveals a couple dead spots to the left and right of the outdrive.
On the left and right sides of he transom, inline with the top bolts, is an area about 6 in. square that is soft. You can push the fiberglass in almost 1/4 in. This corresponds with the dead areas found on the other side of the transom.
I don't know how you guys put the circles and arrows on the 27 8x10 glossy photographs with the paragraph on the back........sorry, I,m regressing back to my youth. I would like to know how to include arrows in my pictures.