Do you LOVE the boat? Is the boat in good condition otherwise?...floors etc? If so then I would def put in a new transom.

If you spend $$ on a different used boat that 'seems' solid, who knows what could pop up in a month or so. Once you replace the transom correctly you should be good to go for years!

2500-4000 for a transom seems really high to me. I think you should shop around.

If anyone has a better price within a few hours drive of New Orleans, please share it. What should I expect to pay for this repair?

As to whether I love this boat, I haven't had it long enough to decide whether this is the boat that I want for the long term. It rides well but I sure wish that it didn't ride so wet under so many conditions. The floor is largely in good shape. The gas tank hatch and fish box hatch needs to be recored. On the plus side, I just finished a comprehensive rewire of the boat.

Yeah maybe a little high for around here also...usually here transom prices starting around 2K then right on up from there

Had another guy come and look at the transom this morning. He quoted me $1350 for labor only, I provide all materials. I figure that should be less than or close to 2K for the repair. He advises that I should use "fiberglass foam panel" to core the transom instead of plywood. Any thoughts on composite materials instead of plywood?

I am no expert by any means but the plywood base is what you would get the support from, I wouldn't think that a fiberglass foam panel would give the support you would need.

He is probably talking about "Coosa" board or something similar. I don't see a problem using plywood as long as the guy you are going to hire is comfortable working with it. Plywood as long as its encapsulated properly will last another 30 years maybe longer.

I like good old plywood, seal it up good and seal any holes you put in it and it will be good for a long time.
Also what about sea cast for the novice boat repair?

Shrek, I just posted my transom rebuild. There is no problem using marine grade plywood. If you are going to be a second set of hands to the guy you hire then you can be sure it gets sealed up and in many areas it will be even stronger then factory. I added the link to my thread. I have to find the time to complete it . I now have 10 coats of gelcoat on and am in the process of sanding/compounding. Looks better then the rest of my boat now, means I have to clean it all.

http://wellcraftv20.com/community/sh...ad.php?t=16196

we've had a lot of arjay/seacast repairs and it seems very user friendly. that seems the way to go if stringers are in good shape. do a search and pull some up of the old threads