First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

[floridasportsman1990]

Hello all, new to the forums and just bought a small boat from my father in law. i dont know much about it i know it was made in the 70s and it says sportsman on the side. i got the boat and a nice motor plus the trailer for 200$. the boat is in grest shape but one spot is a concern to me, if you go to the back of the boat and look at the transom from the top it has some cracking well this was no problem so i bought a fiberglass repair kit from wal mart and plan to fix it, well he also gave me a motor as a suprise because i didnt have one and this motor is alot bigger then what i was expecting,its a 20hp mercury and its heavy i am afraid it is going to hurt the transom. the pics will give you a bertter idea . also the boats called a sportsman but i cant find anything online about it if anyone has any info on this type of crast it would help alot. sorry just a first time boat owner. thanks everyone

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

Hey floridasportsman, welcome to the world of boating and all the joys that go with it. First of all it doesn't matter the name or manufacturer of boat. A boat is a boat. And by looking at your pictures you will have to replace the whole transom. It's not a real big job on a boat like yours, but big enough. Check out the deck (floor) really good for soft spots. I suspect that you may need to replace that as well. Great little boat though and that 20 Merc will push her along nice. Read up on this forum and you will see tons of info in doing this work. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Good luck.

 

[Brenn]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

welcome to iboats,thats a neat little boat you have

 

[bonz_d]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

Do a bit of work and you'll have a nice comfy fishing rig there. Worth the effort to do it right.

 

[74bayliner]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

welcome to iboats floridasportsman. You are going to be amazed at the level of support and information you can gain from this website. Thats a nice little fishing boat you have and i say "little" because i envy your boat vs my 17 foot runabout if only i had as little work as you.
I hope you under stand that walmart fiberglass and resin may not be exactly what you need to get the job done right. You are going to be out on the waters, without doing it properly you are selfishly not taking into fact the safety of you , or anyone else in your boat, not to mention fellow boaters on the water with you.

There are various places you can get fiberglass materials and not for bad prices so when it comes to that point we will assist you.

Also being new to Iboats, it will be much more of an enjoyable thread for everyone if the photos are automatically enlarged on the thread.
Here is a common way to do it:

 

[floridasportsman1990]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

Thanks for the info everyone and no problem on the pictures,sorry about that. Im in pensacola just picked up the boat from my father-in-law and the weather here is bad because of debby so we had to stay a few days longer. The trailer is old but in good shape just fixed the lights and gave a turn or two to all the hardware on the trailer.its going to be fun driving 6 hours back to Tampa with no trailer tag. I took the boat down to the car wash and gave it a good wash and got off all the grass stains and found the vin number plate lol it was actually under the grass stains. So here is the scoop, the transom is not all bad its just a small section by the side of the boat. So i think after looking into it I will go buy some epoxy and acetone and water down the epoxy and inject it from the bottom until it comes out. This method has mixed reviews so i will look into it more. Im 22 and this is my first boat and i love it, i like it because its old and it reminds me of the days when quality made ment exactly that it was made in 1973 and the transom is the only problem. Thanks everyone for the help and i hope to be a bigger part of this community.

 

[74bayliner]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

hey no worries bud. lol like i said its not the LAW its just a preference lol

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

Hey FS1990, no offense but... You really need to check the transom more thoroughly. If you plan on hanging that 20 hp merc on her. From what I can see in those pics, she needs to be totally replace. The Transom is one of the most critical structural parts of your boat and it cannot have ANY flex in it whatsoever. NONE! The quick BandAid repair you are suggesting is not recommended. It's your boat and your safety but I would not suggest it. You shuold remove all the rotten wood from the inner core and reglass in a new core to bring her back to spec. The pic clearly shows some bowing of the transom on the one side where it is cracked.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

I also agree that your transom is toast. The fiberglass has cracked because the wood inside swelled up due to being saturated with water and that's what cracked the fiberglass on the top. Your transom wood is wet and rotten making your transom unsafe for boating.

Lots of good threads and info on here on how to replace your transom wood and it's not that difficult nor expensive.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: First boat and some problems to boot(PICS)

I agree with the guys above. I promise you that it needs to be replaced, all of it. I'm talking from experience. Drill a couple or three holes on the inside and see if you get water or wet wood. Drill one close to the bottom.

I'm sure all of us are only thinking of your safety.