Trim tab mounting plate tore off.

[saugeye]

The trim tab mounting plate tore loose from the transom of my boat this weekend. I poked a small screw driver inside the holes in the transom. I could touch the inside layer of fiberglass. Is this a sign of rot?

[DonV]

Probably. Take a coat hanger, bend a small 90 degree end on it that will fit in the screw holes and run it through and around the screw holes into the transom. If goo comes out the answer is yes.

Been there and done that!

[saugeye]

If that's the case shitty deal. I have had this boat for I think 3 years. Hired a marine surveyer to inspect it ahead of time for 375$. Ran from Fargo, ND to fair haven, Massachusetts to get it.
I only use it 3 trips a year to Lake Michigan. Sits on a trailer otherwise

[bigeasy1]

Saugeye,

Maybe some other members will chime in here to help you out.

After I spoke to you last night about your trim tab being ripped out,I looked at pics of my transom replacement when I did my restoration.
I can't see how anyone could not get the new core all the way down to the bottom where it meets the hull.
You mentioned that when you stuck a screwdriver into the mounting holes for the tabs,it went all the way in to the innner glass face of the transom.
So this means one of two things,either the core is rotted,or somehow when the new core(if in fact it was replaced) didn't meet the bottom,leaving a void.which would leave the mounting screws biting into only the glass skin.

Even more weird is that the surveyor gave you a good report with no moisture issues.I would contact the seller and ask if the transom was ever replaced.It won't solve the problem,but it will at least answer the question you had.

If you have any fasteners on the outside face of the transom,remove them and see if any water leaks or drips out.If it does,then the outlook isn't good.I would also take a small hole saw and from the inside,drill a few holes at various levels in the inner skin just through the glass.
Pop the disc out and you'll be able to actually see the core,and be able to take some kind of pick or chisel to the wood and see if its shot.You can easily mix up some epoxy and plug them back up,and it won't cause any structural issues.
I hate to say this,but i think the chance of a rotted transom core is more likely than the thought that there is an air space void where the tab mount is.

Finally you said that you borrowed another trailer and that one of the rollers was directly under the tab,and you thought that may have pulled the tab loose.I guess its possible, if the tab was retracted all the way with the cylinder at its stop at the top,concievably the weight on the tab could put considerable pulling on the mounting plate and screws.

Maybe you'll be lucky,and find that the core is ok,maybe who ever installed the tabs used screws too small for the pilot hole,and they didn't hold well,Maybe you'll be able to move up a couple screw sizes and get them to hold(use some 4200 or 5200 to seal them).

If none of this works,and if the transom is toast,and you cant get them ito solid stock,then you might be better off taking both tabs off,and using the boat as it is for the little fishing season remaining.
In the fall you can pull it inside and really find out what's going on.If you have to do a transom replacement,there is plenty of help on this site.It's not a job that requires extremely high skills,its just more of a dirty, itchy, backbreaking job.
Once you get a little glass work under your belt you'll get better and better and able to finish it off nicely.

[saugeye]

Thanks big easy. It's not the dirty, itchy, back breaking work I am worried about. It's the finish work. I have never done body work etc. so new to me

[saugeye]

Also hoping to hear from entourage. To see if he replaced the transom core before I bought it

[Capt Chuck]

All good advice here!. Here's a wet Transom (notice drips from trim tab backing plate screws

[saugeye]

Dirty, itchy, back breaking work is nothing new to me. I am a hard wood floor installer

[saugeye]

Thanks capt chuck. It will be a while until I can get back out to wisconsin to look at it a little closer