Transom Swells about half an inch

[billfish16]

The Transom on my 1982 V20 swells about 1/2 inch when it goes in the water in the Spring then shrinks back 1/2 inch over the Winter while covered on land. The Sheet Metal Cap on the Transon Cutout that is on either side of the OB is stretched out and does not appear to shrink back to what was the original thickness. I am going to take that sheet metal cap off and at least cover it back up with a new sheet metal cap, lots of 5200 and or fiberglass. I have drilled a few holes in the transom over time and used lots of 5200 in the holes so I do not think water is coming in from them. Anyone one know what I should be looking for when I take that cap off, other than wet rotton wood? How do you know if it is repairable vs replacing the entire Transom? Do I just re-cap it and use the boat until the engine falls off?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Billfish16

[Airslot]

Check out Boomsurf's thread under performance. MJ just posted an snswer that fits here.

Airslot

[brianct12]

Bill,
You might not see much wood when you remove the cap. At least on the later 80's boats I have seen, Wellcraft wraps fiberglass (and gel coat) up and over the top of the transom notch. Only a small separation exists - between the fiberglass skin of the outer transom and the inner liner. Your situation doesnt sound good and the damage is probably already done. However, if it were me, I wouldnt take any action just yet. Keep a close eye all the time ... and look for signs of weakness and deterioration of the transom (cracking). Force the issue - have someone stand on the motor L/U and look for flexing or movement - inside the bildge and out. I wouldnt consider repair work unless you see some actual signs of damage. However, if you use your boat offshore most of the time - maybe that warrants repair.

[macojoe]

I disagree! If that transom is bad, you might just find out when the motor is in the water!!

Wouldn't be the first time a motor fell off a bad transom!

Or be like whopper who found his boat sunk on the dock, cause not sure of yet, but was needing a Transom before the sinking.

Do this, grab the lower unit and lift with your hands, try lifting the boat off the ground and move side to side.
I am betting that there is movement!!

Next take a drill and drill some small 1/4 holes in a few different areas of the transom.

Clean looking wood come out the hole, Good

Back wood coming out the hole, Bad wet wood (replace transom soon)

DIRT coming out the hole, All is lost!! Replace transom ASAP

You might find some good wood near the top, the bottom is were the real dirt will be!

Good Luck!

[msbhammer]

I have an 86 v-20 and I removed the cap, no wood could be seen. She was wrapped tight in fiberglass.

[reelapeelin]

Billfish, your transom sounds like it is due for rebuild if it's swelling like that ... do drill-test MJ said and go ahead and find a good fiberglass repair shop; get references and check them out ;) ...

[msbhammer]

Take Pics. for us. ;D ;D NOW >:( ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Stillrunning]

Replacing the cap is not going to help your problem it will only cover it up for a little time. I would do as others said and drill a few test holes under the water line and see how the wood looks and leave them open for a couple of day to see if any water comes out. I replaced my transom about 5 yrs ago by taken the boat apart (removing the inner shell) and it was not that bad of a job. The repair can be made from the inside of the boat and you don't have to tear up the outer shell. If you find it needs replacing and would like to know how we did the repair let me know.

[parishht]

Stillrunning, if you have pix of the repair, I'll bet most of us would like to see how you did it.
I know that I could learn a few things from a post like that.

[Mulv80]

Hammer wants to see pics of shrinkage ;D

[parishht]

Well if I jump in the water right now...

[Stillrunning]

Stillrunning, if you have pix of the repair, I'll bet most of us would like to see how you did it.
I know that I could learn a few things from a post like that.
At the time I never even thought of taking pics but I never had seen a site like this where others would like to see how it was done. Just let me know if you want a run down of the process I used. I had one friend who knew a little wiring, me and another had some wood working skills and knew how to work with fiberglass. It is not that hard of a job if you have a little skill. The best part of taking the boat apart is you can check your flooring, runners, etc. It only took three of us one day to have the boat in two sections.

[msbhammer]

Damm Mulv, I'm not feeling any love from ya today. :-*

[msbhammer]

Wifey loves me whenever I swell more then half an inch. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[macojoe]

Wifey loves me whenever I swell more then half an inch.

She loves you cause you have 1/2 a inch!! If with a asian man she be lucky to get that!

[msbhammer]

She fakes it really well MJ, thats all that counts, right. ;D ;D

[BuilderFL]

Bill, check out Seacast Pourable Transon Repair. I have not used it myself but it could be a viable & economical way to repair your transom. Perhaps some of the GODs can shed some light into this option.

http://www.seawolfindustries.com/seacast.html

[parishht]

At those prices, this could be a good fix.
As long as the product does what it says it can.

http://transomrepair.com/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=9871834.19894*bc4Eh5&xm=on&produ ct=Seacast

[C YENSEN]

anyone ever use this? i didn't even know it existed? ???

[Stillrunning]

It seems like you would still need to take the boat apart so you could makes sure you have a solid shell to pour into. If you just cut out the wood and framed out the top what happens if you have a hole in the inner shell (which I mean the fiberglass covering the transom)under the splash well. It seems like the product would run into the bottom of the boat in the bildge section. Maybe they addressed that part and I missed as I skimmed over it.

[Mulv80]

I've heard good reports on Seacast on other forums. The problem is trying to get all the wood out of the transom because the Seacast won't adhere to wood. On my first project V-20 that I took to the dump, I tried digging out the transom with an electric chainsaw and pry bars. It was near impossible. It could be done but I would think it would be extremely time consuming trying to get it clean enough so the Seacast will adhere. The stuffs not cheap and the shipping is high if I remeber correctly.

[msbhammer]

Yo MULV, you been holding out on us. You need to post some pics of your old V. We want Pics. Do it NOW !! >:(

;D ;D ;D

[macojoe]

This stuff has been talked about a lot here, We had a member here that used it, but after the repair he disappeared and we never did get to find out the end result???

Getting all the wood out is the hard part!

As for there being a hole big enough for this stuff to go into the bottom of the boat, I don't believe thats a problem.

But most of these boats that have a transom replaced also have some damage to the stringers in the bilge.

This is were I think the real problem is with the Seacast, you have to repair the stringer and you want it to be part of the transom for support, and secast does not stick to wood.

You could just bring the stringers to the inside shell and glass them to the shell with knee boards, But I think it would be much stronger all around to make them as much as one as you can.

So I still think removing the inside shell and repair with wood is the best way to go.

[Mulv80]

Hammer the old V was what brought me to this site. She was a lost cause. I stripped the windshield, gas hatch cover, gas tank, bimini top, seat post and hardware and used every last part on my new 79 V including the trailer. I bought her for $350 without power and dumped her for $60. The amount of parts I got off that boat and to be able to use everyone one of them on my current V was destiny.

I will dig up some pics for you Hammer since I've been giving you a hard time lately ;)

[parishht]

Here is another link that shows how it's done.
There is a lot of information to be had by just exploring the different links.

http://transomrepair.com/zk/transom.shtml

and some info on stringers:

http://transomrepair.com/zk/stringers.shtml

[msbhammer]

I'll be waiting Mulv for those pics. I'm still bumming over the shrinkage. >:( :o ;D ;D

[msbhammer]

Mulv. Now means NOW !! >:( >:(
We want Pics. dude. ;)

[reelapeelin]

Mulv. Now means NOW !! >:( >:(
We want Pics. dude. ;)


You outta do-nuts up there, Hammer?...soundin' a little ''testy'' in yer old age ;) ;D ...

[Seacrets]

RP, I think his wife types his posts for him. Maybe the reason he always wants pics is because he can't read. I may be wrong though. I better watch it. I have relatives that live in Lewes. ;)

[msbhammer]

It is the off season, need pics to keep us guys going until we can get our boats wet again. relatives in Lewes, Hmmm, Where ?? ;D

[Stillrunning]

This stuff has been talked about a lot here, We had a member here that used it, but after the repair he disappeared and we never did get to find out the end result???

Getting all the wood out is the hard part! *

As for there being a hole big enough for this stuff to go into the bottom of the boat, I don't believe thats a problem.

But most of these boats that have a transom replaced also have some damage to the stringers in the bilge.

This is were I think the real problem is with the Seacast, you have to repair the stringer and you want it to be part of the transom for support, and secast does not stick to wood.

You could just bring the stringers to the inside shell and glass them to the shell with knee boards, But I think it would be much stronger all around to make them as much as one as you can.

So I still think removing the inside shell and repair with wood is the best way to go.I don't think people know how easy it is to remove the inner shell. It sounds like such a big job but I found it to be very easy.

[garagenc]

I did some boat work for one of my neighbors on some rotted wood and what I did was cleaned out the rotted wood as best as I could and then I poured resin and layed glass. I wasn't able to get every bit of wood out but I hand painted a coat of resin over everything. Before it hardened I used seacast foam on top of that. He still has the boat and so far (knock on wood) it hasn't shown any signs of cracking or seperating.

One member is right it's expensive and shipping is almost as bad.

[cfelton]

hey billfish ,im new to this site too . listen to these fellas they know what theyre talking about, i havea 77 v20 i/o i rebuilt the transom in ,it took a lot of time but it was well worth it. i cut the inner skin out and the wood core was like dirt. i couldnt tell until i cut some small holes in it around the gimble . i then cut it ALL out ,cleaned it up ,and built it back with two layers of marine ply and layers and layers of chopped mat and about eight gallons of resin.i bought the glass and resin from a boat builder (carolina classic) close by. the marine ply was 3/4 inch and was 86.00 a sheet. it is strong as hell now. i hope i never have to worry about it again. carolina classic builders use fir ply ,they say the resin bonds to very good .dont play around with a bad transom ,it is the driving force of the whole boat.

[msbhammer]

CFelt, as what I usually say to all, WELCOME to the site and post lots of pics. of your V and the work ya did. *;D

[billfish16]

Thanks to all for your feedback. I live over an hour away from the boat and I plan on visiting her next weekend if the weather is not horrible. I will take pics and post them.

Bill

[reelapeelin]

billfish, I've been keepin' my boat about an hour down the road...15 min from lake...has its drawbacks(can't work on it), but don't have to trailer as far... :D ...

[billfish16]

Attached, I think/hope, are some pics of the transom under the cap.

I drilled down about an inch or two and the shavings seemed to clean and dry.

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill\My Documents\My Pictures\May 5 2007

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill\My Documents\My Pictures\May 5 2007

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill\My Documents\My Pictures\May 5 2007

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill\My Documents\My Pictures\May 5 2007

Billfish

[msbhammer]

No pics. :'( :'( :'(

[billfish16]

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007026.jpg

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007023.jpg

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007032.jpg

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007028.jpg

[msbhammer]

WOW !!, never seen one in that bad of shape. Great Pics. Thanks. ;)

[Bygracealone]

Ouch... *That doesn't look good. *Is that fiberglass that's all cracked and delaminated? *How does it look underneath all that mess? *Are those wet wood shavings that are laying on top? *

Definitely got some work ahead of you buddy. *But as said a number of times, this is the place to find the help to get it done right...

[tsubaki]

I haven't read the whole thread but what appears to be going on is the wood used may have been pressed or partical board. This would account for the swelling and shrinking. Letting it dry, removing the cap epoxy and resealing will not fix the problem. Water will wick from the bottom voids and do the same thing. Replacement will be necessary but dosen't appear immediate. Replacement is not as hard or as expensive to preform as most people feel. Just decide if you want to replace with wood, epoxy or fiberglass. Looks like you got plenty of time. Did you do a transom bounce test?

[billfish16]

I did not pull up the cracked fiberglass, I was short on time. I did drill down thru it and the shavings came up clean and appeared to be dry.....it was in the 20's so maybe they were frozen. I was alone and I did stand on the lower unit and bounced lighty, I'm 200lbs, but it was hard to tell if there was movement. I will do some more investigating when I visit the boat in the next week or two. I will post more pics then.

Bill

[tsubaki]

By the way the "cracked fiberglass" may not be fiberglass but an epoxy of some type to fill voids. ;)

[willy]

Where is the swelling you are talking about, is it only at the top where you took the pics?
Did you do as MJ said trying to flex the the transom applying leverage to the lower unit?
If you did and got no flex then I think you might be OK, but you still need to drill a couple of holes and check wood that comes out.
If it comes out OK you may have a simpler repair. There is a chance that is just filler that has deterioated. That filler may not have been put in there by the factory but may be bondo or the like put in to address the appearance by a previous owner.
If it is and all else is strong and DRY, you will be able to grind it out and cap it in fiberglass as Stinky did on his Baby V, check his post out he did a nice job and you will get an idea of what I mean.
If that transom flexes, or you get wet darker wood come out you need to do a transom job, and from the things I have heard there really is only one way to do it right, with lams of marine wood and glass or one of the new (cost prohibitive) structural foams some builders are using now.
Take a look at your motor bolts that go thru the transom, are they dimpled in from wood expanding and the bolts obviously not moving?
Are there cracks along the joints of the motor well or along any parts of where the transom meets any other walls?
Have you looked at the stringer knees where they come up and join the transom? If they are soft, if they have cracks running along where they join the wall of the transom you will have your answer because you will need to address them right away and do the transom at the same time. It would not be safe to operate the boat under those circumstances.

[Stillrunning]

The only thing in the rear of the boat that could swell and shrink wood be the wood. If I'm correct your 2nd pic. is of shavings from drilling into the transom. They look clean but I still have to believe that the wood is getting wet because that the only way it would swell.

[billfish16]

I tried to post addl pics today but I am having issues signing on to my Photobucket acct. Anyway I drilled many holes in the transom and it is not good. Lot's of moisture in the decent wood shavings but more black dirt than wood shavings. I started digging down from the cap and that wood is a mixture of good and bad wood. Even though there is no flex in the transom when I bounce on the motor I am going to re-do the transom. How do I take the motor off and what to I use to lift it? Would an engine lift for a car work? Will it give me the height needed?

thx

[msbhammer]

Billfish,
You need to disconnect the positive battery cable running to the motor, remove the fuel line, power harness...that just unplugs and the steering cable.
A car engine hoist will do fine. You will or might need a engine lift eye.
Sounds like your new to this, you could replace the transom from cutting out the outter skin, or removing "citting: the cap off. Its alot of work. I'm doing one now and the cost is running up big time. I would suggest pulling the motor off and cutting out all the rotten wood with a chain saw and simply pouring in Seacast. The cost and time should be cheaper and easier on you. Let us know what you decide. Good luck. ;)

[billfish16]

Hammer,

Thanks. If I can not get a lifting eye to screw into the motor how do I secure the motor to the lift??? straps, rope? I imagine a chain would damage the finish.

Regarding Seacast. I read that it does not stick to wood. Is it close to impossible to remove ALL the wood? If so, can you coat the remaining small amout of wood with Epoxy to give the Seacast something to stick to?


thx

[macojoe]

Thanks. If I can not get a lifting eye to screw into the motor how do I secure the motor to the lift straps, rope? I imagine a chain would damage the finish.



I use a 3" wide yellow strap, I make my own harness, and it is different everytime!! LOL

When doing this you have to make sure that you tie under the front of the motor to the top of the harness, as it will tilt forward and filp up side down, Don't ask how I know!! :-X

Just go slow and becareful not to have ant fingers around! You will be fine!

I have done this many times and I will be doing it again soon when the new motor gets here, and this will be a 225 hp bigest I have had to do yet!

[msbhammer]

Billfish, yes, you are required to gat all te wood out of teh transom, but I honestly dont think that anyone ever gets all te wood out. Might take some time, but not as much time to cut the cap off as I did.
My cap is back on and now teh real patience sets in, doing teh body work correctly to the point that you cant tell teh cap was ever off.
You could fill with resin along with chopped mat. Seen the chopped mat on E-Bay.
Be sure to post pics. of the motor removal, We can walk ya through each step. ;)

[Stillrunning]

When we removed my 150 johnson we did not use a hoist just three guys and some beer. We pushed the trailer over to where I was going to leave the motor then lowered the motor down onto a peice of wood. Then we disconected all the wires steering etc.. We removed the four bolts holding on the motor then just laid the motor over. The biggest problem we had (three of us) we were prepared for it to weigh more than it did and we faught each other more then the weight of the engine. We just reversed the process to put it back on and you can use the trailer jack to line the holes back up.Oh, and when your rmoving the motor have the your beers sitting out of the way as my buddy knocked mine over.

[Blue_Runner]

You got to watch where you set those beers! ;) Dang I bet you were mad!

[billfish16]

Stillrunning,

thx


I dug down into the transom a little and split the wood with a chisel. See attached pics.
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/Sept2007040-1.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/Sept2007037.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/Sept2007040.jpg
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/Sept2007036.jpg

Billfish16

[msbhammer]

Ok, it's time to get out the chain saw and start cutting out all that bad wood. ;)

[billfish16]

Since it's gettin' close to Halloween I will put a Hockey mask on while I do it and maybe scare the SH!T of of some little f'ers and/or adults. I am not referring to my kids of course.

thx

Billfish16

[parishht]

Ok, chainsaw with hockey mask, just don't say with pink thong too,
the pink thongs are reserved for Stinky Hooker.

Let's see, Sandy Hook, NJ,...........



I got it,


chainsaw, hockey mask and camo thong. ;) ;) ;D ;D

[msbhammer]

Camo Thong. Thats it. LOL, Good one Parishht. ;D

[billfish16]

Hammer,

I found a couple of pics of my boat other than the Transom.

Bow Shot
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007043.jpg
SSI Tackle Locker
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007041.jpg

Tackle Locker from insidr the cabin.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x232/billfish16/May52007042.jpg

If the weather holds Sat I am going to the Shore to fish on my buddy's BAYLINER. If so I will stop by my boat and take a few more pics.

[msbhammer]

Oh man, he had to say "BAYLINER" :-X

[billfish16]

I'm baaack! Yup after 14 years of the boat sitting and not repairing the transom I decided to sell her. But since I started visiting her to clean her up I'm having second thoughts. I'm still over an hour away from the boat. If I do not sell her and decide to fix the transom I'm going to bring her closer to me.

The transom definitely needs to be replaced and there is at least one soft spot on the deck. Next will be to check the condition of the stringers. So torn as to what to do with her, so many good memories and hoping for many more, if I decide to repair and not sell.

[phatdaddy]

Wow, blast from the past, glad ur back BF.

So the boat hasn t. been used in 14 years? Your a very patient person or a very careful planner. The good news is you now have YouTube to guide you through the whole process, bad news is the price of everything has tripled.

Skunkboat has a very good video explaining the pour cast method,but i would think you would need to address the stringers also. Depending on where the soft spots are in the deck, that all might have to come up also.

Whatever you decide, keep us in the loop and take plenty of pics

[billfish16]

Viewed skunkboats videos numerous times.

[steplift20]

How much would it cost to get a repair shop to rebuild the transom?

[billfish16]

https://youtube.com/shorts/NeTMnkSo2YU
https://youtu.be/bqDLtst1isw

And so it begins.

[Dana A]

https://youtube.com/shorts/NeTMnkSo2YU
https://youtu.be/bqDLtst1isw

And so it begins.

Looks like the exploratory stage.
The pour is the way to go, we just finished the capping off the the stringers friday night

Video Updated after about the 3 min mark from previous post
https://youtu.be/evikoPwJOOk (https://youtu.be/evikoPwJOOk)

[billfish16]

Looks like the exploratory stage.
The pour is the way to go, we just finished the capping off the the stringers friday night

Video Updated after about the 3 min mark from previous post
https://youtu.be/evikoPwJOOk (https://youtu.be/evikoPwJOOk)

Great work and documentation!

[Pipe_Dream]

Looks like the exploratory stage.
The pour is the way to go, we just finished the capping off the the stringers friday night

Video Updated after about the 3 min mark from previous post
https://youtu.be/evikoPwJOOk (https://youtu.be/evikoPwJOOk)

Great work! Fascinating to see.

[billfish16]

https://youtube.com/shorts/NeTMnkSo2YU
https://youtu.be/bqDLtst1isw

And so it begins.

Transom partially dug out.
https://youtube.com/shorts/iOpNCvAeF1c

[billfish16]

Thoughts, pros, cons to raising transom to 25”?

[phatdaddy]

What is your engine shaft length? Primarily freshwater, lake use or open water?

If you have a choice, bigger is better

[SkunkBoat]

Unless you already have a good 20" motor that you plan to use...in a lake...

25" is the answer

[billfish16]

Unless you already have a good 20" motor that you plan to use...in a lake...

25" is the answer


My motor is a 20” 150 Merc OB with a late 80’s power head. Never plan to fish freshwater. Open bay and inshore fishing will be the primary use.

[Dana A]

Thoughts, pros, cons to raising transom to 25”?

25 is the way to go if your on the ocean My opinion). my experience with these boat in the past was only when they sunk. they sunk from water over that 20 " transom after going 4 stroke. Also gives you more options with power.


Dont know if you know that spraying down the wet wood with
Isopropyl alcohol will dry it out and release it from the resin. 99% works best but 75% of the shelf in walmart works too.


Feel free to message me if you have any questions, We're a couple steps ahead of you.

Put the liner in tonight for final fit measurements
https://youtu.be/n1oWEnnMAPY (https://youtu.be/n1oWEnnMAPY)

[SkunkBoat]

Don't want to jinks your 30+ year old motor but you would be pissed if you go 20" and then have to repower next year.

20" the motorwell will be wet all the time. Afternoon SW wind in Barnegat Bay will be ugly.

[billfish16]

25 is the way to go if your on the ocean My opinion). my experience with these boat in the past was only when they sunk. they sunk from water over that 20 " transom after going 4 stroke. Also gives you more options with power.


Dont know if you know that spraying down the wet wood with
Isopropyl alcohol will dry it out and release it from the resin. 99% works best but 75% of the shelf in walmart works too.


Feel free to message me if you have any questions, We're a couple steps ahead of you.

Put the liner in tonight for final fit measurements
https://youtu.be/n1oWEnnMAPY (https://youtu.be/n1oWEnnMAPY)





Thanks for the tip, never heard of that trick! Also thank you for the offer to contact you with questions!