Does this indicate my transom is good?

[jbcurt00]

Re: Does this indicate my transom is good?

Measure & mark a drill bit w/ masking tape.

A 1.25"-1.5" deep 1/4" hole drilled from the inside of the transom, but NOT thru the hull, in a few different places. Wet/dark shavings aren't what you want to find. Dry/light shavings indicate a sound transom.

You can take pix of the holes & shavings as you drill them.

 

[crashkaloop]

Re: Does this indicate my transom is good?

83mulligan,
Thanks for the great thread. Looks like you did a great job!

I should explain that I love working with my hands, and have a very complete woodworking shop. I also have a little welding equipment, and I am good with tools at a hobbyist level. So I am confident that is I were to attempt to rebuild this transom, I could do it.

However, I am equally certain that once I got going, I wouldn't want to stop, and I would end up with a full on restoration spending 5-10 thousand dollars. It’s just my nature.

This boat was purchased as a knock around fishing boat, because that’s what I like to do, FISH!

I know many of you do your restorations as a labor of love, and I would be very susceptible to doing that too, but I don’t want to get sucked in.

Now, I am not saying that a 1987 Ranger, fully restored, wouldn't be an absolute thing of beauty, but I can’t justify the expense, time, or effort, when I just want to get a line wet!

Having said that, if I were to attempt the transom repair myself, I have several questions for 83mulligan, and the rest of you could chime in too.

Questions for 83 mulligan:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/boat-restor...-292930-6.html

POST#138
It looks as though once you found a bad spot by drilling a hole, you then opened a larger area to see how bad it was. This is the square cutout in this picture, right? That being the case, were you now committed to a complete transom repair?

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/boat-restor...-292930-8.html

POST#196
What’s with the cheese grater? This is boat abuse, or vandalism. I am sure this wasn’t done by you, and if it was you wouldn’t admit it, but can you explain how this might have happened?

Another question is how much dry rot dictates replacing a transom, or is it possible/advisable to repair a small area if the rest is good?

Last question for now, if I replaced the whole transom, is there anything besides plywood that I should replace it with? What about using the stuff that pours in and then hardens?

Thanks

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Does this indicate my transom is good?

I wouldn't even consider talking about replacing a transom yet. Do the core test and see what you have if the wood is a little damp then its not a huge deal unless its started to turn dark and black. They used good quality wood on the ranger so damp will not hurt other than it feeding microbes that will eat the transom in years to come. If the transom is sealed and no air can get in then the microbes will slow down so a good transom service should be done even if the wood cores test good. All bolts and screws need to removed one at time and re-sealed to keep air and water out of the transom pocket (good place to check the transom when the motor bolts are removed).
How many horsepower are you running and what does the data plate say for max hp

 

[83mulligan]

Re: Does this indicate my transom is good?

I agree with Glenn. My transom was really bad. Yet in alot of areas it was fine. The major part of my damage was from someones poor repair job. It allowed water to penetrate for years and years and I didn't know until it was too late. To answer your first question...When I found rot like that I had to tear it all out. I had to be sure for my own peace of mind. And, its not too easy to work in small areas of the transom. The whole transom needs to work as one piece to be strong. Plus, its not super easy getting a section out without destroying other parts. The wood that was still good (almost 40 years after it was built) was hard to get removed. Its amazing really, how strong 1/4" of fiberglass is. You can use it as leverage to pry on without cracking it at all. I was impressed.

The cheese Grater, lol, was pretty amazing. I could not believe there were that many holes in it before I started.

I have no doubt you have the skill to do the job. None of it is rocket science. It's hard, filthy work grinding fiberglass and working with resin, though. So if you do it, be prepared for that.

Do what others have said and take some cores. It's probably all right, but then you will know for sure. I hear you on the getting sucked in part. Its easy to let that happen. I'm the same way.

 

[crashkaloop]

Re: Does this indicate my transom is good?

All good advice.

I will do the cores before considering anything else. I will be pulling the motor off come winter, as I want to work on it and repaint it during the non-boating months. That being the case, I will core it next week and report back here for more great advice. If anything significant does need to be done, I can do it after I pull the engine off.

Thanks all! :joyous: