[FELLOW-SHIP]

HA OTTERLY COOL
SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR DILEMMA ON WHAT TO DO. I ONLY KNOW TWO THINGS YOU CAN DO EITHER REPLACE THE TRANSOM OR DON’T AND HOPE IT’S NOT THAT BAD. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DUMP ANSWER BUT BOTTOM LINE THAT’S YOUR CHOICES. NOW LETS SEE IF I CAN HELP A LITTLE. I KNOW THERE ARE WATER SENSORS THAT SOME GUYS HAVE USED TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH WATER IS IN THERE. FOR ME I JUST REMOVED ALL THE THROUGH HULL FITTINGS AND ALL THE SCREWS IN THE TRANSOM AND POKED AROUND SOME. I DIDN’T LIKE WHAT I SAW SO I STARTED DRILLING ¼” HOLES IN SUSPICIOUS PLACES AND THEN I MADE MY DECISION SOME GUYS USE A MALLET AND TAP ON THE TRANSOM TO LISTEN TO HOW IT SOUNDS THIS METHOD DIDN’T HELE ME MUCH. BOTTOM LINE IS THIS IS A JUDGMENT CALL FOR ALL OLDER BOAT OWNERS “FOR ME” I DON’T KNOW IF ANY BOAT 15-20 YEARS OLD OR OLDER THAT I WOULD TRUST IT’S TRANSOM IS ANY GOOD. (UNLESS IT WAS A STRAIGHT INBOARD). I KNOW YOU GUYS UP NORTH WILL PULL YOUR BOATS IN THE WINTER AND PUT THEM IN STORAGE IF IT’S DRY MAYBE YOU WILL GET A LONGER TIME OUT OF A TRANSOM BUT FOR MOST OF US, WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT THIS BOAT HAS GONE THROUGH FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE SO WE DON’T KNOW IF IT HAS BEEN LOOKED AFTER WELL OR NOT. WHEN I BOUGHT MY 1977 I PREDETERMINED BEFORE THE PURCHASE TO RE DO THE ENTIRE THING AND THAT’S WHAT I HAD TO END UP DOING. MAKING THE DECISION ON THE TRANSOM WAS A HARD ONE FOR ME, I KNEW IT WOULD TAKE ME 10 TO 15 DAYS OF HARD WORK TO FINISH IT AND I DID HESITATE FOR A LITTLE BUT THEN I REMINDED MYSELF OF THE ORIGINAL COMMITMENT TO THIS PROJECT AND THEN DID THE JOB. I HAVE GOT TO THE PLACE IN LIFE THAT BOATING/FISHING IS A LIFE STYLE AND I WOULD RATHER DO WORK ON THE BOAT THAT SIT IN FRONT OF A TV.
FELLOW-SHIP [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]