Wet Transom- help
 

So I went to move my Lowrance transducer and decided to repair another old patch that looks like an old screw hole. So I drilled it out to reseal it and water started to drip out. It’s right next to the transom drain. I knocked on the rest and seems very solid but how concerned should I be? It’s a 1986 20SF. You can see in the picture it looks like it was seeping but I’ve never noticed it before. I really don’t want to replace and loose the season. Anyone run use epoxy to fill the small void and get a few more years out of it? Any help would be great.

I got a few more years out of mine. The question is how do you know if yours will make it. A couple of things to look for/keep an eye on. First tilt the motor up and have a robust friend put pressure on the end of the lower unit, while you watch the transom. If you can detect any flex then I would be very cautious, once movement starts it can progress pretty fast. Look carefully at the outer edges of the transom, under where the lifting rings are, if you see hairline cracks running vertically, then I would say you are done. On mine when I saw the cracks running almost top to bottom on the outer edge, almost at the corner I knew it was past time. When I got into it that was confirmed.
By the way this was on an original 1975 transom. If yours has been molested previously, your situation may be different. This is just one guys opinion on the internet, and I have only done one transom. Many on here have done multiples and might have some additional thoughts.

My transom felt really solid also. I had a friend who was a marine surveyor put a moisture meter on it and he found out the entire transom was wet. When I removed my trim tabs water also drained from a screw hole. Long story short when they started replacing my transom this is what the wood looked like. Mind you it is a 1972 boat.

Ugh, sorry.

you could drill a few more exploratory holes to see what you find... but as the others have mentioned it's often shocking how wet our solid feeling transoms were when we took them apart. Even if some of the wood dries out, it's almost inevitably de-bonded from the skin.

Drilling in a bit it really the only way to know for sure. Good luck.

My 18 transom felt solid and...

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...1&d=1618493583

When I did my transom it was before the garbage man had hydraulic equipment to pick up the cans, he was not real happy for a week or so with my wet transom wood!! Amazing how heavy that goo is!! :)

Doesn’t smell that great either as I recall. I have a video where I removed the battery box platform starboard aft and water was running out. Didn’t have any evidence on the exterior of the transom. No cracks or flexing. Happy I didn’t hang a new motor on it after peeling/wringing it out. Sorry to add on but check out a few pictures. You’ll sleep better if you bite the bullet.

Thoughts on cost
 

Thanks all for sharing not the news I was hoping for but not surprised. Any ball park ideas of the cost of replacing the transom at a shop? Can anyone suggest any good shops on Long Island. Prob look to do it in the fall but we’ll see.

IMHO many/most 25+ year old plywood transoms are probably wet and somewhat compromised, based on moisture meter readings I've taken and pix I've seen of transom replacements here and elsewhere. So lots of guys are out there running boats with wet transoms - is it ideal? No. Is it safe? Maybe? If you have a seriously bad transom with a heavy motor hanging on it, you're addicted to doing full power hole shots, and you expect to run hard in rough water or venture offshore, that seems pretty high risk. If you have some wet core but baby it a bit my guess is you would likely be okay for awhile... probably a good idea to look for any signs of cracking every time you go out. But your mileage may vary.

In my area probably around 5000 for composite

Been on LI for the US Opens at Bethpage and Shinnecock and comparing prices from FL to LI is impossible. What would cost $3,000 here for a new transom could be well over $5,000+ up there. Good luck!!!

Raybo Marine in Lindenhurst does the best work and is fair (but not cheap). If you've ever thought about painting the boat, now would be the time too. Ask Rob there what he thinks.

To give an idea of materials...I just spent $1100 on materials for my 20 sceptre that I'm redoing the transom on...I will have left overs but the labor involved including paint not included. I dont know if you can charge enough for this type of work lol

strick

I was quoted $5-6K for a transom job on my 23'. I did it myself with Arjay and Gelcoated it for about $1,500 in material cost.

I did a thread on how to do it. See below link

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...ad.php?t=30522

The transom felt solid on my 1969 20ft as well. I ran it for a season or two like the photo below then replaced, was surprised how solid it felt being so wet. I would go ahead and right near the engine as close to each engine bolt outside of the engine bracket go ahead and drill out some test holes and see what you have near the engine bracket. Try to not drill the test hole completely though pick one side get to the next skin of fiberglass and stop so you can fill them up a bit easier. If the wood still has a little structural integrity in the fibers maybe you can get away with another season but this is one of those subjective things where no one is going to be able to tell you if you will have a failure this year. You can fill the holes with Marine-Tex if things are looking ok and move on and replace in the future.

Wet Transom- Now or later?
 

Two years ago I completed by first transom, some of this info may help you get another season before your transom restore.
I suspected for 2-3 years my transom would need restoration. When I observed compression of the transom at the bottom motor mount bolts I installed an aluminum angle about ¼” x2”x2” that was long enough to bridge at or near the stringers and run the mount bolts through it.
Although I had no visible cracks in the fiberglass, there was mismatch of the aluminum trim pieces that surround the engine cutout. Bouncing on the AV plate also confirmed transom deflection.
Drilling several small exploratory holes and putting the wood chips in a baggy left in the sun, revealed water in all the bags. With a long off season facing me I started my Seacast restoration, where the instructions were to leave the fwd and aft fiberglass sheets of the transom intact. (The task would have been much simpler and quicker by removing the aft sheet and using the approach mentioned below).
In some real badly compromised transoms what’s left of the wood is easier to remove than mine which was pretty solid in many areas, resulting in hours and hours using a drill, chain saw and chisel to remove all the wood.

My recommendations:
1- Consider this info and other good tips that have been already provided to decide on whether to bite the bullet now or later.
2- Although my results were ultimately satisfactory, if I were doing another transom I would use Arjay and the approach that Jim on 77SceptreOB and DonV used.
3- You might want to raise the transom as well. I raised mine 2” and still avoided a jack plate, longer shaft and hydraulic steering.

Good luck!

Haha.

Bent's Fiberglass. Believe he is in Patchogue now. He's really good and would probably be around $5000. He just did a transom, the aft half of the deck, and painted the hull on a friend of mine's 27 Rambo. He's very good.

I worked too late on my transom tonight. I couldn't help but relax and read the posts about replacing transoms, and felt that I should put in my 2 cents. I have built new, and replaced many old transoms. This is the second time in 25 or so years that I am replacing the transom in my 69 CC. The first time, I used Okoume plywood, and like I said, it has lasted about 27 years. I DID NOT cut out the fiberglass on the back of the transom, because there is a substantial amount of structural integrity that I feel is compromised if you do. That is just my opinion, and I know that it is all plastic, and should bond together just fine. It is so much easier to do, and gives you something to guide and bond to if you leave it. This time I am using 1 and1/2 inch Coosa Board. No matter if it's wood or fiberglass, I use epoxy, only because I have experimented with polyester resin in the past. I was helping a friend of mine work on his Ford and he asked me how I knew so much about mechanics. I told him that it was because my first vehicle was a Ford, and I have driven a Chevrolet ever since.

That being said, if you are physically able, have the tools and place to do it, do it yourself. $5K to 7K? No way. All said and done, doing it yourself with a composite transom, you will spend maybe $2000.00. Not that you can put a price one of the best boats ever built, or ever sell a SeaCraft, (It's saying I spelled SeaCraft incorrectly) you will also greatly increase the resale value.

Get rid of ALL the wood. There is wood in your stringers that is probably rotten as well, but won't affect their structural integrity if you take it out. As far as finish, 12 oz bias cloth with the mat sown into it will prevent "Print Through". Considering the complete pain in the neck of using gelcoat, the new paints available work and look perfect.

One other thing I need to mention is that you need to wear a respirator. The wood in your transom and stringers can hold many airborne things that can make you very sick.

I have worked on boats so much that I wasn't able to go out in the boat. If you have the money, spend it. If you want to save money and get out in the boat sooner, get hot...

My Father would tell me that, "Good Judgement Comes From Experience, And Experience Comes From Bad Judgement".

Well...It's 3:30 in the morning...I guess that's it. Sorry for the Ramblings, but Thanks for letting me be here!

Chris.

Okay, one more thing that I thought about. Epoxy is so much easier to work with than polyester. As a thickening agent, use equal amounts of Cabacill (Or Cab O Sil) and Wood Flour mixed together to bond the new transom to the inside of the outer shell of the fiberglass transom. Mix the epoxy well and get it to a less than peanut butter consistency. Spread that out between what you are bonding, but spread it out onto something to work from. If you leave it in a lump or in the pot, it will "Kick", or start to cure before you get it on your work piece. Using Coosa Board, or the like, keeping the outside or aft fiberglass on, you can put a lot of screws with washers on them, into the transom from the rear, to make sure you get a compete secure bond. If you try that with wood, it will compromise the watertight integrity of the transom, and let moisture in. Coosa Board, or the like, will not.

By the way, I'm not trying to sell any kind of specific composite material. Ford and Chevrolet? I've built too many wooden boats, and will continue doing so... Thanks.

Chris.

My transom is mulch. But it's stiffer than most.


I put 3" aluminum C channel spreaders on the transom. One in the bilge, and one up where the top bolts/ cables/ fuel lines route. It has been that way for about 10 years...


I am going to get bracket grease and fish blood on the transom so I don't care if it isn't the Mona Lisa, but it gets me home.