transom advice needed. pics attached

[Maxum21]

well, i was in the middle of replacing my rotted deck and have come to realize my transom core is pretty ugly. I originally did a few core samples showing good wood, however after digging a little deeper this is what i'm dealing with. It appears water got in via the drain hole.The bottom 4-5" is wet with some rot and the remaining wood is good. I wasnt expecting this. Not quite sure how to handle it. Should i attempt removing the bad wood and stuffing a new piece in with epoxy and cloth? I have the splashwell directly above where i cut the skin out(in pic) so replacing the whole wood core would be a big job. The transom is solid as a rock, but i'm obviously not going to patch this glass back up as it is.. would like to hear some of your thoughts and opinions on this..
thanks!!

 

[coolbri70]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

I would replace the whole thing, the motor pushes in at the bottom, the wood needs to be solid all the way dow to the stringers

 

[greenbush future]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

I don't see covering that rot back up and enjoying the boat safely. It should be replaced IMO, just a matter of time before that thing goes bad on you. What kind of boat? looks like the cap will come off or at least cut in back and removed.

 

[jmmacky]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

I think I would feel a lot happier knowing I had one solid piece of wood in there rather than a 'patched up' transom. A catastrophic failure of the transom at the joint with a patch job could be disastrous. But my experience is limited so just an opinion.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

Rot is like cancer and spreads. I'd replace that transom.

 

[Maxum21]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

greenbush its a 95 bayliner..they did a ****-poor job of sealing up that drain hole and water has seeped in over time..you would think they'd seal up a transom hole properly that they know will have water running through on a consistant basis..baffles me.
anways whats the best way to remove this core? i will have cut the transom cap when it comes time to inserting new wood core. so once i have that opened up, im thinking a chain saw to get this wood out. Any other tips or suggestions?? thanks again!

 

[tpenfield]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

That does look a bit tricky to fix . . . mostly because the rot probably goes into the areas where the stringers attach to the transom. So, if you tried to replace the lower section of wood, then you would be into the stringer joints.

Of course taking the cap off the boat to expose the full transom is no picnic either. . . .

The challenge with a partial replacement is the remaining wood will probably continue to deteriorate. You need 'chemotherapy' to fight the 'cancer' that the boat has . . . Ethylene glycol (antifreeze) can help in that regard.

Speaking of stringers, how are they? If those are bad, then the boat probably should come apart in order to fix everything.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: transom advice needed. pics attached

greenbush its a 95 bayliner..they did a ****-poor job of sealing up that drain hole and water has seeped in over time..you would think they'd seal up a transom hole properly that they know will have water running through on a consistant basis..baffles me.
anways whats the best way to remove this core? i will have cut the transom cap when it comes time to inserting new wood core. so once i have that opened up, im thinking a chain saw to get this wood out. Any other tips or suggestions?? thanks again!

I'm not any kind of expert, but I did go through the same kind of restore you are. I would snap some more pictures of the entire back end inside and out so the guys here can comment. Without seeing all of it, it will be hard to offer best way to do it.
I ended up cutting my cap about 3 feet from the stern, then replaced the floor, (stringers were not made of wood so they were fine) transom and then tabbed it all back in tight. And now I'm putting the back cap back on. The job wasn't that hard, but I took the time to read here for weeks before I even lifted a tool.