Is the transom bad already?

[draglink]

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

[bgreene]

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.

[Shrek]

Here are the pictures of the cracks.

[phatdaddy]

no bueno

[THEFERMANATOR]

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.

[Shrek]

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?

[draglink]

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!