After many years of losing the short time on the water we have in here the Arctic waiting for MerCrusier parts to show up I have purchased a bracket and I’m installing twin 90 hp outboards. At least we have a local dealer here and I don’t have to fly everything in when I need a part.<br /><br />With suggestions on how to from the bracket manufacturer I have filled in the old out drive hole, had aluminum angel brackets made to tie the transom to the old motor mounts and stringers, also angle brackets to tie transom into the gunnels to carry the extra weight. All was going well until I drilled for the steering cable to go through the transom and found wet wood in the right hand side of the transom.<br /><br />A few tests holes on the inside show that this is wet and starting to rot in an 18 inch square area, appears to be due to a bilge fitting that was broken and leaking between the inner and outer lay of fiberglass. This area is only ¾ plywood and I planned on putting two more layers of ¾ ply across the whole inside of the transom and glassing it in before installing the angle brackets and my outboard bracket. <br /><br />So my question is should I remove the inside skin, replace the section of wet ply wood and then continue or just leave it and add the extra two layers over it. As the boat is a 1977 Sea Ray 220 SRV CC that I plan to replace in three years anyway is the extra work worth the effort?<br /><br />Until I drilled the steering cable hole I had no indication that there was any problem with the transom and all fittings were sound and it appears and sounds good when tapped from the outside.
