Oly makes a good point. Make sure you know what you're getting if you go with one of the low cost quotes. Not all transom jobs are created equal. There are "professional" shops out there that will throw a couple layers of roving and mat or biaxial on the outside of a couple layers of plywood, throw a couple more layers on the inside and call it done. My 25 Seafari had less than 1/8" of laminate on the inside of the transom and it was redone professionally.
What a lot of folks don't understand is that a transom is not structural plywood protected by laminate, it's structural laminate cored with plywood. Obviously, there are other core materials, but the same structural principles apply.
There are fundamental differences in cost and quality between a cored laminate and a laminated core. If you go with someone who's quoted a price less than $3K, ask him how thick the inner and outer laminates will be. If it's not at least 1/4" inside and out, walk away or get him to requote it with the original laminate schedule.
There's always the possibility that these shops have lower overhead when they're not having to rent expensive space in a metropolitan area, but I'd still make sure you get a laminate schedule in writing before you let anyone cut into your boat.
My $0.02
Dave
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Blue Heron Boat Works
Reinventing the wheel, one spoke at a time.
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