Wet transom

[Cricket Too]

A couple of years back I had a couple of cracks in my transom. Eventually water seeped in before I had realized the cracks were there and now the wood in the transom is soaked and very heavy. I have at least 500 lbs. or so in the stern of my boat now and it sits low in the water and is very hard to get on plane and stay there. I'm looking for the best way to dry my transom out or maybe the easiest. I was thinking about cutting the fiberglass off the top of the transom and letting the wood dry out, and then re-fiberglassing it. I do not want to do this if it will not work though. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[DJ]

Re: Wet transom

The best way would be to:<br /><br />1. Determine how far down the transom the wood extends.<br /><br />2. Drill a few small holes at the base (bottom) of the wood.<br /><br />3. Drill one small hole in the transom cap.<br /><br />4. Let it drain and dry.<br /><br />5. Refill holes with MarineTex.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Wet transom

Thanks djohns, but when you said to drill a small hole in the transom cap, did you mean all the way down to the bottom of the transom where the other holes are?

 

[ajp]

Re: Wet transom

500 lbs of water in the transom wood is impossible. Wood doesn't soak up that much water. That is 62.5 gallons of water. Think how large a 55 gal barrel is. The transom may have some water damage, but if your stern is sitting low, it is because you are retaining water in the floor, probably have the foam saturated. Djohns has a good plan.<br /><br />If you are having trouble getting on plane, is your motor running well.

 

[22WRF]

Re: Wet transom

Step 1 Tap the transom all over with a hammer listen for a hollow sound. Since it has been only a couple of years you probably don't have rotten wood yet and it should sound solid.<br /><br />Step 2 You got to get the water out and the wood dry.<br />Drill some 3/8" holes about 3" apart across the top to the transom as deep as you can get with a long drill bit.(after removing the cap.)<br />Step 3 Do the same on the outside of the transom just above where the hull meets transom. <br /><br />Step 3 Put a heat lamp(s) on it dry it until you can't fish anymore wet wood out of the holes.<br />Then let it dry somemore.<br /><br />Step 4 If that didn't get it dry Take a 2" hole saw in a drill and just cut thru the glass on the outside of the transom dry somemore.(Save the cut outs you can put them in the last step.)<br /><br />Step 5 If do have rotten wood use "Get Rot" in the holes pour down the holes in the top of transom.<br /><br />Step 6 Fill and finish holes with Marine Tex or <br />or Formula 27 (Perferred it's sands better than Marine Tex)<br /><br />Good Luck It's lots of hard work

 

[Solittle]

Re: Wet transom

I think we need to find out a tad more before we jump to the fixes. If mmc is running a relatively small boat with a big motor in off shore water and the transom, floor and foam is rotten and waterlogged there is only one safe fix - new transom and floor. Don't know this to be the situation but quick fixes in the wrong situation can be deadly.

 

[BillP]

Re: Wet transom

Not meant to step on toes but here's my 02...<br />It will take months to years to get a plywood transom dry by drilling little holes and letting it air dry. Plywood is extremely difficult to dry once fully saturated. <br /><br />If you try it that way then get a fan and let it blow on the holes 24x7. Pour acetone in the holes everyday to help evaporate the water out. Core drill more holes as you go to check for moisture. Good luck.<br /><br />I've used Git-Rot several times and did some sample testing with rotten wood and cut it up to see how far it saturated. It doesn't saturate much. It is basically too thick to saturate punky wood. It fills holes great and lays 99% on the surface. Don't count on it getting more than a 16th inch into soft wood. If you thin it to saturate it ends up being too weak...been there and tried that too. I will add that my tests were done AFTER I screwed up a 20' classic wood cruiser by trying to fix a small rotted area of mahogony on the deck with Git-Rot. It ought to be named Don't-Work or Rip-Off.<br /><br />Remember this, rot will not happen if the wood is fully saturated. It can rot if it has enough air so complete drying is necessary. Any wet spots left in the wood will be where rot starts. <br /><br />You either have a very fat transom or the weight is coming from other places. A typical 20'r boat transom probably couldn't absorb more than 5 gals. I think it takes only approx 15-20 gals to fill the entire cavity without wood.<br /><br />Do this enough times and you too will have gray hair!

 

[22WRF]

Re: Wet transom

There are a number of unknowns here.<br />So best we can do is give a general procedure.<br />How big is the boat?<br />How thick is the transom?<br />Are ther bulges in the glass indicating the wood swelling from being wet?<br />Have pulled the engine off so you could check in the mounting bolt holes to see if there is rotten wood?<br />Where are the cracks that caused the leak above or below the waterline??<br />Is it a trailer boat dry stored or wet part of the year? <br />For sure there is not 500 # of water in it.<br />That would be 62 gal.<br />A fast fix, cut most of the transom out and rebuild it.<br /><br />By the way get rot has a shelf life.

 

[record hunter]

Re: Wet transom

Evereyone has some great idea,s Alot of smart people out there. I had a simular problem in my boat a sea ray. I had water saturation dry rot and termites. So I pulled the engine outdrive transom plate all wires and steering I grinded and chissled out all the wood .Had to cut into floor to get down to bottom of deep V I cleaned all the way to the fiberglass. I then bought2 pieces of marine 3/4 plt . Go to yopur local fiberglass shop and they can tell you how to glue onI believe I used a west system apoky with a thickener I believe you have to coat the wood with some resin first thoughdont let it dry I then screwed through the back into the ply through some existing holes Also you can use wood wedges from the front. It worked for me and now I have a strong transom that I can fish in 10 foot seas and not worry about my rear end falling off.good luck Aloha from Hi.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Wet transom

LCM-8... The boat is a 17ft. SportCraft center console. As far as I can tell there are no bulges in the glass on the transom. I have the engine off and the mounting holes are wet but the wood does not seem rotten, it still feels pretty solid. The cracks were caused when the idiot who installed a different engine for me made new mounting holes down where the floor meets the transom. He put big washers on the inside of the transom and cranked them down to the point where they dug into the floor and cracked the glass, thus exposing the wood to and water that came over the stern or from my wash down pump or anything else for that matter. I did not realize this until I replaced that engine with a different one myself a couple of years later, at which point it was too late. The boat is on a trailer and I can let it dry out for an extended period of time if need be. As for cuuting out and replacing the whole transom, that may be more work than I am willing to put in to this boat. I appreciate all of the advice, from everyone, it's good to know there are so many do-it yourself boaters out there. Thanks again. Tight Lines.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Wet transom

Also one other question. How would I know if the foam was soaked and rotten? And how would I go about replacing it? Thanks.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Wet transom

The foam is under the floor so - - - - - .

 

[RICKRICK1]

Re: Wet transom

I just repaled my transom on a bass boat using SEACAST and it is very easy and quick. U can see it at transomrepair.com Also before you start go to the project boats forum and look at several of the postings on transom, floors, and stringers.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Wet transom

Thanks RickRick I will check those other 2 sites, but just so I know what is Seacast?

 

[RICKRICK1]

Re: Wet transom

Seacast is an epoxy/fiberglass mix that takes the place of wood in a transom. It will not rot and does not absorb water. Go to transomrepair.com, they have a great information package on the stuff. I did a bass boat with 5 gal, everything needed is included and is cost effective. Cost me $192 US. If I had used a longer blade chainsaw it would have been completed over a weekend.

 

[jprasisto]

Re: Wet transom

Check a site called rot doctor. They have a product, CPES, that should be able to help you. They also have a lot of info on that site abouot exactly your problem!<br />Good Luck<br />PS: if it does not stop raining here in NJ I think I may coat myself in something to prevent rot!

 

[RICKRICK1]

Re: Wet transom

Seacast is an epoxy/fiberglass mix that takes the place of wood in a transom. It will not rot and does not absorb water. Go to transomrepair.com, they have a great information package on the stuff. I did a bass boat with 5 gal, everything needed is included and is cost effective. Cost me $192 US. If I had used a longer blade chainsaw it would have been completed over a weekend.

 

[mls2002]

Re: Wet transom

Have you considered renting a moisture meter from your local rental store. If they don't rent them chek with a local grower (greenhouse. Some are a single probe some are double. In any event the probe hole is only about an 1/8".

 

[Black Max]

Re: Wet transom

Use Seacast. It will last forever.