Pour able transom

[Destroyer]

I think you might be a little confused Roycie. They're talking about replacing a rotted out transom. Sani-Tred is a waterproofing compound. It might be great for the outside of the bilge skin of the fiberglass, but it's an elastic polymer and will not fill the void that a transom replacement requires. Plus, the last thing you want is a transom that flexes.

The problem with our boats is that the transom is made of marine plywood, with fiberglass laminated to both the inside and outside faces, effectively encapsulating the wood. But people drill holes in the transom to mount things like transducers, speed pitot's, battery hold downs, bilge pumps, etc., etc, and then they don't properly seal those holes. Over time, water seeps into the plywood through those holes and rots the wooden core, weakening the transom and making operating the boat with a large, heavy engine hanging on it unsafe. In fact, there was just such a disaster off the Jersey shore last year, where the transom cracked open and the boat sank.

The easy cure for this is to take off the top cap of the transom, hollow out all the wood and then pour a compound into that void to fill the space with a hard substance that doesn't rot, will support the weight of a large engine and the torque forces associated with that, plus can handle to force of the engine pushing on it, and it, in turn, pushing the rest of the boat hull through the water. The not as easy cure is to remove one of the sides of the fiberglass, remove all the rotted wood and replace it with new marine grade plywood, then replace the removed panel and fiberglass everything back together. Properly done, both solutions work effectively, but since the pourable transom repair will never rot out like the wooden repair, it's the process of choice.

Hope this helps clear up the misunderstanding.

[Roycie]

Thank you for the straightening out... You are right... as much as I have researched it I should know better.... I am in the process of redoing a V20 and have a post showing some of the progress..

We all need help some more than others.. Thanks again

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Roycie

Thank you for the straightening out... You are right... as much as I have researched it I should know better.... I am in the process of redoing a V20 and have a post showing some of the progress..

We all need help some more than others.. Thanks again

Happy to help. That's ultimately what we're all here for. Looking forward to seeing pics of your project.

[JeanF]

So... virginia.... Man it´s so far! I ca***324;t beleive arjay can ´ t be found anywhere else!.... Someone kneow if a list of distributors exist?

[bgreene]

I understand the transom may become solid this way..........but what's holding this newly filled / cured transom to the rest of the boat ?

It's still supporting the engine, torque, wave action etc so what keeps the rock hard transom from falling off, engine included ?

[Huron Blue]

I've done two transom repairs with seacoast http://www.transomrepair.net I would highly recommend it!! I used a chainsaw and welding a chisel on the end of a 3/8 rod so I could scrape the transom clean. Took about 2 hrs to clean out the transon. Gotta be real careful not to go too low. I cut my transducer wire by accident but if that's all that went wrong no problem. ha Then I used a heat gun on low for several hours to dry it completely out. One of the things I did I was soooo glad I did was make myself a wedge shaped funnel to help guide the stuff down the transom. It would have been a COMPLETE mess otherwise! I had my son hold the 'funnel' which was a huge help! Bump the back of the transom with a rubber mallet ever so often to make sure it settles down. This stuff is STICKY!!! I also used a 2by and clamps to keep the transom nice and straight. Had I not down this it would have budged out I think. I found a pc of 'U' channel aluminum on eBay to cap it all. You will notice it get warm,,,, then HOT!! You have about 1/2hr working time. Mix in the shade and keep the stuff cool the night before aka in the shade or whatever. Makes a big difference on working time. So how good is it? Well I put the engine on by the afternoon and could jump up and down on the engine with ZERO flex in the transom. But the real test was a year later. I hit a rock going 15-20 MPH. Engine flew up and bounced back down. HARD! Didn't even faze the transom. Still solid as a rock. I really don't know what more you could ask for. I highly recommend the stuff. Worth every penny. Nice people too any questions they are real people ready to help.

[Huron Blue]

Two more pics

oh and one more thing it helped to have a pc of 3/4 pine to sort of push the stuff down the funnel and push it sideways inside the transom.

and I got the pictures in the wrong order but you get the idea...

[Huron Blue]

Originally Posted by bgreene

I understand the transom may become solid this way..........but what's holding this newly filled / cured transom to the rest of the boat ?

It's still supporting the engine, torque, wave action etc so what keeps the rock hard transom from falling off, engine included ?

I didn't have any problem and it was wasted! It's usually not too bad by the sides of the boat.

[Redloon]

Huron Blue,

Thanks for the information. One question on using the Seacast - How did you check for leaks into the bilge area before pouring the Seacast?

It looks like you used Duct Tape to seal the engine mounting holes on the outer transom skin. Did you use that on the inner skin also?

I'm thinking of using Seacast after cleaning out the rotten transom wood on my project. I was thinking of pouring water into the cavity between the outer skin and the inner skin - that for sure would show any potential holes where the Seacast could flow into the bilge.