Is the transom bad already?
 

I was out in Gulfport this weekend watching the challenge cup regatta and acting as a half assed support vessel. It was pretty breezy and in that skinny water, the chop was 2-3 and confused. It was like a washing machine. The boat handled OK and was fairly dry until I tried to run in on plane with a quartering sea (more or less); operator error got us all soaked to the bone, but it was a pretty fun ride.

Problem.

I put the boat on the trailer and pulled it out and while I was out of the way getting the boat ready for the interstate, I noticed two cracks on the top of the transom on either side and outboard of the outboard. The one on starboard is larger than the one on port. I stepped on the outboard and watched both cracks flexing open and closed. The rest of the transom feels and sounds solid. What are the chances that this is a simple glass repair and not a rebuild?

Slim :sad:

none it's a rebuild.:cry:

Cracks mean the section has flexed.
Flexed usually means because the area has weakened.
Weakened usually means due to water intrusion and rot.

Is it a V20 or V21 ?

You have a few options
1. fill the cracks and see if it continues to get worse
2. commit to a transom rebuild - but better than original.
3. fill the cracks, or leave the cracks and sell the boat in "as is condition" .......just not fair to list the boat as MINT condition........that's not fair.

Sorry, I have to disagree.

You cannot fill cracks in transoms... Even with the crack filled it's still structurally unsound and will break. It's just a matter of time. A cracked transom is about as serious as it gets. Two people died off the coast of NJ earlier this year when the transom on their boat cracked and the boat sunk without any warning.

I could never live with myself if I sold a boat, knowing that it had a weak transom, and the boat sunk and killed someone. The only way I could sell a boat like that would be to point out to the buyer the bad transom and get him to sign a waver stating that he knew the boat was unsafe and needed repair before using. You cannot cure stupid, so if he used it after that then I'd feel ok... sad, but ok. :head:

Shrek, sorry to hear that.

Would you mind posting pics for the education of all (meaning me)?

option 4. you could put a large piece of aluminum over the transom on both sides and through bolt it. use it this summer. and do a rebuild on it this winter. that what a transom rebuild usually is around here, a bigger washer.

Is this a viable option? What size plate do I need to get?

I know Destroyer is going to yell at us......but you want a piece as large as you can fit. The idea is to get out past the new cracks as far as possible to hopefully get into some good wood on the transom. I would get a piece that covered your whole splashwell on the inside and a matching piece on the outside.

i have seen a piece on the inside as large as the back of the splashwell and a matching piece on the outside and a cap welded tothe top to tie it all together. not a good solution, but could get you through the season. look up some of the arjay fixes and do that in a couple of weekends.

i am betting its junk!! but if you want to ck, just drill a few 1/4 inch holes from inside and if you get wood great, if you get dirt its junk!

BS has a boat that has a 1/2 inch plate inside and out on his transom as big as the back of the boat and it is solid as a rock!!

lots of transom rebuilds on here look in the search and find them you have options on how to do it

good luck!!

Find out how far the wet or rotted wood extends by doing what MJ said first.
If is bad out past the cracks more than just around the engine bolt holes do not do the metal plate remedy. A metal plate will only be as strong as what it is bolted to.
It is way to risky.
Sorry about your trouble and I hope you get her repaired one way or the other soon, but whatever you do, do not go on the water again with it like that, God saw you and yours in safely, say thank you and act accordingly.

I would say it depends on how bad the flex is. My transom had some flex in it but no cracks. The PO had put an aluminum plate inside the splashwell, almost all the way across. I added a huge plate outside just for peace of mind- I figure I can get at least 3 seasons out of it (found the source of water intrusion and sealed it). I have NO FLEX at all and the thing is solid as a rock now.

I painted and trimmed the plate outside to match the hull

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49...aftopti008.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/draglink/001-1.jpg

Draglink, I gotta admit that's a really purrdy repair. Nicely done!!

RW, actually I think that adding a stiffiner plate would be a good idea, as long as the wood it's going into is solid. In fact, I'd do what several others have said and add one inside and outside the transom...make a sandwich of the broken area. :beer:

Thanks Destroyer! I dont think anyone who doesnt know I put it there even notices.....the key was the aluminum trim I put on to match the original transom. Also I was pretty lucky, when drilling the holes for the bolts I got some good wood coming out

We're talking cracks....... I was thinking more like spider cracks.....hair thin lines where the gel coat flexed a little.

For cracks, as in openings in the transom - I totally agree - it's compromised and requires significant repair.

Here are the pictures of the cracks.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...y/d0f86dab.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...y/d56d9618.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...y/917d340e.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...y/c3bbae22.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...y/668a04f1.jpg

no bueno

I see that the transom has been beefed up with knee braces, and it appears that the knee braces have not bonded well to the transom and delamintaed.

So then the big question is this: Fix it or scrap it.

I had a glass guy that is highly recommended locally come by and he said that he can patch it with aluminum ($300) which will buy me this summer, but he said that is it. He said that is is probably a minimum of $2500 to redo the transom and if I want to close the transom it's probably closer to $4000. Then I have to buy a bracket for the motor and on and on and on. So I figure that it's prolly a 6K repair unless I go basic and just do the simplest transom rebuild and put it back as it is.

I'm very good with my hands, but the fact is that I do not want to do this. I'm willing to pay someone else to do the repairs. The question is whether it makes sense. This past winter, I saw tons of boats on CL which were priced right because they either needed a motor or trailer or both. Should I wait for something like that to come along? I have an awesome motor and trailer and all of the peripheral parts that I have are also in great shape. The only issues of course are that financially it is probably a wash between that and rebuild and then with another used hull, I take the chance that the whole thing is rotten too. Then I'm even further in the hole.

So how hard is it to separate the hull from the liner?

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

I did mine using the chainsaw system to clean the old wood out, and refilled it with west systems epoxy mixed with masonry cement to keep the heat down. Its five years old now and solid as ever. I called the engineers at west systems and they said the minerals in the cement would dissapate the heat and it worked like a charm. Did the whole repair for $600. Took about to and a half days including engine removal and installation.