Transom suggestions/recommendations needed

[gw204]

Well, bad news came for me yesterday.

I took some time to get started patching up some screw holes on the inside wall of my transom. I removed some old, unused cable clamps from about 1/4" above a "shelf" in each transom corner. These shelves are constantly getting wet on top as the covers that provide access are far from waterproof. Apparently, no sealer was ever used on the screws for the clamps....

I drilled out each hole in order to make room to epoxy a dowel rod in each. On two of the four holes, the "stuff" that came out was the color of wood, but had the consistency of plain, wet sawdust. The "stuff" that come out of the other two holes was more like runny dog crap, except for the smell. This ruined my whole day. I'm currenty doing what I can to dry the holes enought to temporarily fill them so I can use the boat through this season and address the transom over the fall/winter/spring. There's no flex to the transom so that's why I'm waiting until the fall to get started. My wife will shoot me if we go all summer without being able to use the boat.

Here's where I'm looking for suggestions.

I thought I had pretty much decided to completely fill in the transom and install a bracket, but now I'm having second thoughts based on the amount of work I've seen that you guys have done. My options are the following:

1. Rebuild the transom to the stock configuration and maintain a transom mounted outboard. The boat was set up to be able to accomodate twin 20" motors and as such, has a huge engine cutout. I'm not real fond of all that open space but I could fill it with some removeable Starboard panels or something else creative that looks good as well as keep the fold down splash well (that also needs to be recored). I know this would be the easiest method.

2. Again, maintain a transom mounted outboard, but rebuilt the transom and top sides to form a very small cutout around the engine and keep the fold down splash well. More along the lines of the way the current 20' Grady transom is setup.

3. Rebuild to a full transom and mount the engine on a bracket of 24" or so. The more I think about it, this would probably be easier than option two as there wouldn't be as much fiberglassing on the top sides to form the engine cutout.

What do you all think?

I have also been kicking around the idea of removing the two small fishboxes and storage wells in the transom corners as Ringleader has done. This would require relocating my oil tank, water separator and washdown pump. However, if I do choose to do this, those would be the least of my worries.




I'm going to approach this from the inside as I will also do away with the corner shelves and so I can inspect the stringers.

OK...hit me with questions, suggestions and recommendations...

Thanks guys!

[RS]

I'm currenty doing what I can to dry the holes enought to temporarily fill them so I can use the boat through this season and address the transom over the fall/winter/spring. There's no flex to the transom

If there's no flex, there is no problem yet. It's not like cancer, the worst thing that will happen is you'll eventually need a new transom, but that could be ten years away or longer(I recently sold a boat that I had for 13 years. The transom bottom always seemed wet, yet it was solid where the motor was mounted).

I would unscrew everything currently screwed into the transom and let it drain for a while. It can be helped by using a wet vac over the holes. After a few days or longer, use a bent nail in a drill to pulverize the wet wood behind the screw holes. Use your vac to get it out. Then fill with epoxy and cabosil. When dry, refasten your fixtures by screwing into the solid epoxy. Use 5200 on the screws.

FWIW, saltwater does not rot wood, though it will soften submerged plywood eventually. The difference is that if you dry out the wood a bit, you may have no further damage.

[strick]

I'd base my decision on the following: Ask yourself how long do I want to have this boat. If the answer is "for a long time" then I'd do what you originally had planned and put a bracket on it. It will take a long time to complete but will give you something to do over the winter months and you will be happy that you did what you wanted to do and it will look great when it's finished. If you go this route then I'd free up some of the space in the stern like you suggested by removing the fish boxes etc.
However if the answer to the question is "for a short time" then I'd assess the damage and do a quick fix to aleviate the problem. Sounds like you need to do a few test drills at various places on the transom to see how much is rotton or wet. It may not be as bad as you think espically if the transom has no flex. Hope this helps.

Strick

[Scott]

Brian

I wouldn’t sweat it too much .. so to speak .... as long as the motor isn’t "swaying in the wind" Doesnt sound like the transom is that bad.
Did you jump up and down on the lower unit yet ??

Also I second what strick mentioned.... If your going to keep her for awhile I might consider the bracket route ... just remember all brackets are not created equal [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[FELLOW-SHIP]

It’s too bad we don’t have a M.R.I. machine for boat transoms that would solve all the problems regarding the if and when issues. Since we don’t I have a few rules of thumb when it comes to project boats. For me this one applies “when in doubt cut it out.” If the boat is over 15 yrs old and you have problems just do it the question in when. Oh don’t forget the beer factor.
FellowShip

[gw204]

"When in doubt...cut it out!"

I like that! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

As of right now, this is not an emergency, but I know it's inevitable. I haven't done the "lower unit jump test" yet.

I guess I just first need to figure out how long she'll be around. Sure, I want a bigger boat, but this one IS paid for.... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

In any event, here's my latest idea....

Cut the top cap just in front of the fish boxes and run that cut down to the floor. Cut around the fish boxes and across the deck in front of the splashwell door. Yank all that out. Rebuild to a full transom. Address any issues with the stringers while she's open. Once the bilge work is done, glass in a new floor and run it all the way to the sides of the boat. Reinstall the top cap after cutting approx. 8" down from the gunwale and reinforce accordingly. Build a new transom cap to match the now cut original cap. Possibly reinstall only one well in each corner to maintain a space for the oil tank, washdown pump, etc. Smooth the interior walls of the hull and spray with gelcoat. Install full width platform bracket.

Plan to do the rest of the cap and the rest of the floor the next year.

The end result would be very similar to the 20' Dusky, but without the front casting deck. Use two large coolers for removable storage space and seating. Going about it this way, would give me more room and cut down on the extensive glasswork involved in rebuilding the top cap/inner liner, but it wouldn't be as pretty. I'm confident I could make it look good though.

What do you guys think?

Of course, I also found a 1974 25' Wellcraft NOVA locally. It's an old speedboat hull that looks to have lots of deadrise and lots of potential. $300 and it's less than 45 minutes away.... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[pogden]

Brian,
If it was me I would do the jump test, if you don't get any flex, I would wait until the fall to do your transom. Then I would buy the Wellcraft and work on that. That way you will get a little glasswork under your belt, so when you do your Grady you'll have that experience to help you.

And you will be on you way to the multi-boat theory!

[gw204]

Well, after attempting to dry the holes, I epoxied them up as best I could. They were still kind of wet inside and I really doubt they would ever get completely dry. Oh well, I had to close them up. When it rains, that well gets wet inside and I didn't want them soaking up any more water. I don't know how good the repair will hold. It least had the glass around the holes clean and dry. After I filled them, I noticed some weeping from the top hole. It's far away from the area that gets wet, so I'm gonna try not to worry about it.

I also did the "lower unit jump test". The transom didn't flex any whatsoever. So, I think I'm at least OK for this season..... I wasn't planning to start until the fall anyway.

I brought my wife outside and showed her what I'm contemplating doing. She wasn't excited..... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[RS]

I'd at least unscrew your trim tabs from the transom, let it drain for a couple days, then re-attach them correctly. That is probably where the water came from to begin with. You might want to address your swim platform as well.

[gw204]

Roger, that was done mid-summer last year. I had every hole from the tabs and swim platform bone dry. When I resealed, I used lots of 5200. It would be a tremendous PIA to try and get that stuff back off so I don't wanna go down that road again. Every hole on the outside of the transom was re-sealed within the past year and I'm 99% sure none of them are leaking. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]