Got some work done today. Boats back at the fiberglass man. Thinks maybe Wed he will start cutting into the transom. There is definitely moisture in there. I stuck a screwdriver into the lower bolt holes and could dig wet wood out pretty easily. It's a shame because according to the PO it was only done 2 years ago by a reputable Marina, but guess stuff happens. I don't think the rot will be spread far but I figure I might as well nip it in the bud now while I'm waiting to get the motor rebuilt.
And we have detachment.
I figured I'd find all sorts of goodies when I pulled the aluminum plate off but it all looked pretty solid.
Motor hanging around. Tomorrow I'll have to snap a pic of my $20 engine stand I built. Probably the most over engineered stand built to date (by the way I'm not an engineer), but she definitely handle the monster well.