First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

[striker911]

Well I am Travis. I am 29 and live in mtn home arkansas. I bought 3 boats this winter all for great deals. Two of the boats I got where the exact same.

I ended up moving from 5 hours away so I had to sell two boats. anyways so I ended up with a boat and lots of parts and after selling what was left of the other two I have made all my money back.

I was so excited that I would have a boat on the water this summer and it was free. Well I just found out that the transom is bad and am bummed.

I started to pull it apart today. So this is the reason I am joining this forum as I am sure to need help along the way. Thanks in advance.

Just one quick question so far: When u split the top from the bottom is a saw needed? I guess I need to use a few wedges to separate the two as I cut?

 

[oops!]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

AAAARRRGGGHHH..........dont cut !

welcome to i boats......we can help you.

but we need more info.

on most boats the cap is riveted on under the rub rail....

depending on the boat you might not even have to remove the cap to get at the transom....

we need pics.

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

I agree with oops, don't cut. The rub rail is usually has a rubber strip. This rubber strip can be pulled on and removed which will expose either rivets, screws or both, remove these and the rail will become free. With some prying the cap should separate from the hull, might be some adhesive/sealant holding it as well.

Good luck and welcome to Iboats, pictures definitely help. A lot of helpful folks here.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

As others have said STOP DONT CUT ANYTHING. Get some pics or better description of the boat and we can go from there. And no an aluminum plate won't fix it.(just kidding)

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

As others have said STOP DONT CUT ANYTHING. Get some pics or better description of the boat and we can go from there. And no an aluminum plate won't fix it.(just kidding)

Ha no the plate thing came to mind till I got a better look. I did cut some but not the seam.

I tried to get all the fiber glass out to make room for the new but ended up putting a couple of holes in the bottom of the boat so would it work to just sand whats left and glass over? The last pic shows the spot where I sanded.

 

[cbavier]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

Wecome to Iboats. Looks like your well on your way. Wait for the experts to jump in. Your at the right place. There are many knowledgeable Boaters here who will be eager to coach you along. The boat looks pretty good other than your transom problem.

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

Hey guys its been a while and taken me a lot longer to get to where I am now with the boat. I have made progress though. Got the transom in and the top is done. Put the motor on and started it yesterday for the first time. The boat itself is now solid and I am happy with it. I have set up next Saturday for a in lake test run with my dad following in his boat. Only thing is that I worry that the motor has a few problems. I mean its been sitting since 1996.

Its a 74 Chrysler 105hp. I put a new water pump kit in and it does not seem to be pumping as much. The only way I got any water to come out of the top is to take the stat out and it still seems slow. Should it not be shooting out at idle? I wonder if the directions where wrong when they said to turn the imp in counter clockwise? I also pulled the threads out of one of the bolt holes for the housing and could not get it to re thread with a size bigger tap. The tap only kept boring the hole so since the housing seemed solid I just left it alone.

One last problem is that I hear what seems to be a knock. Its not bad but I would hate to blow it up. Its a 2 stroke but I wonder if oil is used any other places besides the lower unit or in the gas? Maybe the valves need adjusted? Maybe I need more cooling? This is my first boat and I would like to enjoy all the hard work I have put into it ranter then learn the hard way.

Sorry it wont let me d/l pics. of the transom project. Might be too big.

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

One more thing. Does anyone know where I might be able to get a top/sunshade for this boat?

 

[bananaboater]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

Iboats has a wide variety of Bimini tops.

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

updating the project. I took the boat out last Sunday and it worked out real good. I hit like 32mph with that old boat. Seems kinda slow though for a 105hp motor. It seemed like is was not opening up like it should but none the less it was still rewarding and as fast as that old boat should go lol.

Only thing is that when I was a kid my dads 55hp boat went the same speed. What do you guys think? Should that boat not be hitting like 45mph?

 

[oops!]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

that depends on a ton of things my friend.

i could see 40.

read the out board forum for info in the motor.

when you had the transom out.....was the foam wet?....did you dig any out? its possible the boat is water logged......take it and weigh it.

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

Oops. It is water logged real bad. Anyways. My computer took a crap on me so I lost touch with this place for a while. Good thing I remembered my un and password cause I still never got the email that tells you what it is.

The update now is that my boat worked real well all last season and this year I am a little worried so what better place to go then here and just ask. My stringers are piles of dirt trapped in the fiberglass wrapped around them. It was okay all last year but I wonder. How big of a gamble is it to not have stingers? My lil girl and wife will be with me every time I take it out and even with it being okay last year I still think its worth a talking about due to the risk of more then just myself getting hurt.

If the boat needs stringers I wont change them. The boat is not worth the work. But what do you guys think about running it as is? It was pretty solid till I hit some big waves so I slow down if I come up on some. That motor has a lot of power. If I take off full tilt it just gets out and takes off. No flex that I can tell. But still how much risk with my family am I taking and thats why I bring it up.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

It was okay all last year but I wonder. How big of a gamble is it to not have stingers? My lil girl and wife will be with me every time I take it out and even with it being okay last year I still think its worth a talking about due to the risk of more then just myself getting hurt.

Absolutely not. Take your motor and find a better hull. For least chance of getting another rotted one, go aluminum.

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

You mean aluminum stringers or the entire hull is alunimum? Sorry for the ignorance.

Here is some of the pictures we took last year. Thought it would be fun to post some.

As you can see we had a blast every time we took it out. I have been looking for a hull and nothing has come up yet. Money is very tight and even with the lake being 5 miles down the road its hard to afford to go so finding a boat in our price range is the hard part really. Basscat is making boats now with fiberglass stringers so im sure most everyone else stopped using wood also. Wood. What a stupid idea. Who knows when ill be able to get one with the glass stringers. Maybe 20 years?

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

Im gonna do a little Iboats "picture" addition here...

Pics #1+#3+#5=0 boat .. Dont risk it ..

I dont even know what to say..so I wont..

YD.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

You mean aluminum stringers or the entire hull is alunimum? Sorry for the ignorance.

On an aluminum hull the stringers are aluminum. That's the nice thing about an aluminum boat. Even if you buy a TOTAL beater one and all the wood is shot, you could (theoretically) replace the deck and transom in a weekend for the cost of some exterior plywood and some paint.

 

[RZR2007]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

No way should you run that thing in that shape, I just had mine completely redone, in fact just finished the transom because the old one had a little flex in it, I didn't do it for my own safety, I did it for my little 4 year old son who depends on me to make the right choices when it comes to his safety and well being....

 

[mrchev]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

for the families sake do not use it. it might be worth looking at doing the stringers and floor since the transom is already done. then you would have a solid hull for years of good times, like in your pics. might be cheaper then buying someone else decrepit boat and having the same type of problems. just a thought

 

[striker911]

Re: First time poster and boat owner with transom trouble : (

I dont even know if I want to keep this boat so here is the determining factor. Does a tri haul boat have more drag on the water then a v haul? Would I be more happy with my 105hp ob if I got a v haul? Would the v haul have a higher top speed? I know that the 3 questions I just asked are pretty much the same. I just want a boat I can be happy with if I have to do all that work. Maybe I can change the stringers without having to pull the top half of the boat off? In the walk threw area (front "U" seating area) it has a fiberglass floor over the decking so that may be imposable.

The boat needs to be completely rewired also. Only power to the boat is the motor and controls. I only have $150 in the entire boat too so I can still get a v haul and probably even turn a profit, less the cost of the new (used) boat of course.