So my transom is rotted.

[lmannyr]

Hey guys,

I drilled holes on the inside of the transom and out pours water with wet wood stuck on the bit. Not only in one spot but from bottom to half way up the transom. The rot coincided with the dark fiberglass which was also half way up the transom.

I keep getting deeper and deeper into this thing. Every time I hit a bump in the restore process I take care of it and move on. Today I found a rotten stringer and that led me to the transom. Anyhow...

I have heard of great success stories using seacast. After reading the transomrepair.com site I used their excel calculator. It said I need 19 GALLONS to fill!! In their store, thats 850 bucks WITHOUT shipping the 144 pound package!!! DAM...gimme a minute, I need to reprofuse my brain.

So, my questions are:

1 - Should I or should I not use the SEACAST?

2 - What are the chances of not removing the inner glass and just slip in sealed wood to shape?

3 - Or should the inner skin be cutout then pub the wood then re-glass?

It seems to be about 1.5 to 1.75 inches thick.

What a bummer this is, I need some motivation.

 

[oops!]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

when i read the title oif this thread ....all i could think of was

baa haaa haa, welcome to the freekin club, har har

i think the seacast calculator was just a little bit high for a 2 inch wide transom by 6 feet beam.....

but the seacast thing is totally up to you.....the wood way will last a long time if done right

tashasdaddy and i have a discrepancy going over what kind of wood...he says exterior grade ply.......i know he will get approx 20.2 years outta that material

my way with pressure treated wood will last longer...aprox 20.3 years

so you see any of the 3 ways will probably outlast you owning the boat.

with the plywood way you need to remove the inner skin....(no big deal)

the plywood way will cost approx $200 including wood glass and resin

cheers
oops

 

[Mark42]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

Hey guys,
.
.
.
I have heard of great success stories using seacast. After reading the transomrepair.com site I used their excel calculator. It said I need 19 GALLONS to fill!! In their store, thats 850 bucks WITHOUT shipping the 144 pound package!!! DAM...gimme a minute, I need to reprofuse my brain.

So, my questions are:

1 - Should I or should I not use the SEACAST?

2 - What are the chances of not removing the inner glass and just slip in sealed wood to shape?

3 - Or should the inner skin be cutout then pub the wood then re-glass?

It seems to be about 1.5 to 1.75 inches thick.

What a bummer this is, I need some motivation.

Yes, Seacast is expensive, but very well rated. I have never read a bad review from people who used it.

But, $850 is a lot of money, especially when you can spend about 1/2 - 1/3 that amount and put in a new plywood and epoxy transom, or only spend 1/4 of that and do a plywood and polyester transom.

Many people drop in the plywood from the top, but depending on the design of your boat that may require removing the entire "cap" or topside structure to access the transom from the top.

Another method is to cut out the fiberglass skin from the INSIDE and install new ply, then glass over again. Make large "fillits" around the perimeter to give the transome something to push against. I would definitelly use epoxy for this repair.

Do some searches on this forum on transom repair, and also browse the shareaproject.com website and look at all the boat rebuilds. That will give you the best idea of what your up against, and how to go about doing it.

How about posting some pictures of your transom and stringers. Folks can give much better advice when there are picturers posted.

Good luck!

 

[Solittle]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

I have the 1987 version of that hull in a center console. I had my transom redone 5-6 years ago. They (shop) cut the cap about 4' or so forward of the transom. The inside skin of the transom was glass but not part of a mold. They also replaced the knees that act as a brace to the stringers. When done they reinstalled the section removed at the beginning. I chose to spend a couple of extra bucks and had them use what I think is called coosa instead of plywood for the new transom core. It is a fiberglass product and as such will never rot.

However you do it ALL of the old wood must come out. Rot is a fungus and will continue to spread once the process has started. Also do a search on antifreeze - yes antifreeze. I have no experience with SEACAST but think it would be cheaper and perhaps easier to go that route. It depends on how much you like your rig and how long you plan to keep it.

The hull is overbuilt if anything. Mine gives a great ride with little or no spray even when it gets nasty.

 

[ddrieck]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

Also do a search on antifreeze - yes antifreeze.





Antifreeze?...... Whats this all about? Sitting here scratching my head at the moment.

 

[oops!]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

Antifreeze?...... Whats this all about? Sitting here scratching my head at the moment.

antifreeze kills rot bud.....

really.....do a search.....

cheers
oops

 

[tramp666]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

I used sea cast on my transom and it worked great! I cut the cap off with a sazall and and used a chain saw to cut out in between the glass. Plunging the saw into the transom. My nieghbors thought I was nuts cause wood was flying everywhere! But it created a finger interlocking effect when I pored in the sea cast. I was cheap too. I used plywood suspended in between the glass to take up cubic inches and save on the amont of sea cast needed. I pored some sea cast then imbedded the ply wood into it then pored more sea cast until it was full. Put the cap back on and fiberglassed it shut. Mine was bad too. I nearly lost my 140 merc. But now it is indestructable!

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

Update:

I cut the cap and deck 2 days ago. Yesterday, I cut out half of the inner fiberglass then my grinder took a s----. Got my 3 foot crow bar and hammer and had at it. Now I'm really glad I did this. It had ants, maggots, dust wood and/or eggs. I took pictures but don't have time to put them up yet. I be back tonight and post pics.

 

[Husbandgonefishing]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

My opinion is to use the seacast I used it om my King fisher and it saved me allot of time on the jig saw It is supposed to be 30% stronger than wood and is self leveling it will also fill voids thaT you can't with wood !

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

My opinion is to use the seacast I used it om my King fisher and it saved me allot of time on the jig saw It is supposed to be 30% stronger than wood and is self leveling it will also fill voids thaT you can't with wood !

I'm not gonna drop nearly a thousand bucks on the transom. The sweat and hard work is not a bother. SeaCast is defintely stronger than wood and will out last the rest of the boat. Since the transom doesn't need to hold an outboard, the strength is really not needed. The wooden transom lasted 25 years. Replacing it in another 25 wouldn't bother me. I cut the perimeter with the grinder and peeled the glass off with a crowbar and hammer.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

As Promised, here is the update:

I cut the perimeter halfway with my grinder before it took a dump. I bought my grinder from harbour freight last Aug for this project - good thing I got a replacement service plan for it. I used a crowbar and hammer to chisel out almost half of the wood. The rot was worst at the bottom near the hull and wet up to half way up. Like I said before, there were ants, maggots, and ROT!! ---- SEE Next post for more PICS ---

Questions:

Do I cut out the stringers, engine mounts all at once or replace one at a time?

Can I use blown type mat for transom and stringers?

How thick should the transom glass be? (It had 2 layers of roving mat.)

Thanks for your input.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

more pics....

First 2 pics of suspected rotted stringers,

Third pic is of the initial transom cut.

Forth pic is of transom wash down. (I will not put it in the new transom)

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

This is the engine bay/cabin bulkhead that was rotted. It's where the above pictured stringers are located. I was thinking of replacing the stringers in the engine bay about 3 feet past past the bulkhead toward the bow. ( I hope the rot stops there)


I have a new bulk head made out of 2 plys glassed with blown mat in the middle. But have to finish the stringers and transom before it's installed.

Are there any improvements I can make to my engine bay while I'm at it???​

 

[oops!]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

lots of work eh bud?....but your doin good, keep it up, and dont loose sight of the water.

unless there is a weird system in your motor bay....the only thing i might do would be to knee the new srtingers at the transom.....that will make it much stronger, but you might not need all the stregnth.....and the little extra work might not ever be needed.....so its your call.

just make sure you get all the rot !...no wet left......and i agree with your statment about the transom lasting 25 years....and that was with a bad owner !!......

td and i have different opinions on what wood to use...but both are gonna last over 20 years with standard care, so its just semantics!

keep atter......your on the right track and doin well.....fun eh?

cheers
oops

 

[oops!]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

oh btw.......did you measure your transom for thickness?....

standard is between 1 3/4 to 2 ins....some thinner...some thicker......

if you go thicker....you might have to get new bolts for the transom plate and berring

 

[Mark42]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

You said that you were not going to put the washdown drain in the transom. How are you going to drain water? Is there a separate drain plug?

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

You said that you were not going to put the washdown drain in the transom. How are you going to drain water? Is there a separate drain plug?

Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

It's a hose with a spicket connected to a pump connected to fresh water tank. I will relocate this else where on the deck. See pics of old setup. My drain bilge drain plus is where everyones plugs is.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

Here is my status...


Found more maggots on the port side of the transom tear down..... see below.


Thanks for the tip on the stringer to transom glass.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

lots of work eh bud?....but your doin good, keep it up, and dont loose sight of the water.

unless there is a weird system in your motor bay....the only thing i might do would be to knee the new srtingers at the transom.....that will make it much stronger, but you might not need all the stregnth.....and the little extra work might not ever be needed.....so its your call.

oops, what do you mean "knee" the new stringers at transome? Pics?

thanks for the tip again.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: So my transom is rotted.

It's been a week since my last update of the transom. I decided to work on removing the bottom paint during that time to keep things interesting. Anyhow, today was transom day.

On my last update, I had the grinder replaced under the replacement plan. When Harbor Freight replaced it, I purchased the replacement plan again (cost = 8 bucks). Guess what, it took a dump again! The next day I took it back to harbor Freight and they swapped it out, no questions asked, no transactions, nothing. GREAT! Not bad for 8 bucks.

Used it today for about an hour and it's....still good, for now.

On with the pics. On the starboard side, you can see most of the wood is gone. How much of this thin wood must come off? After I get as much as I can off, will sanding it smooth be the right way to do this?

Help me out here. THANKS!!!