New to the site/background on myself

[Scott]

Hi Steve
Thanks for that...Like you said when the fiberglass starts to "dent" around the mounts then its time to get the old out and the new in..

I talked with a Fiberglass guy in Ct. today and he aired on the side of replacement...granted he has not seen the transom but sounds like he knows where I'm heading.....

What did you do with your transom...replace it or it sounds like you may have done the penetrating epoxy?? Hows it holding up

Scott

[capesams]

Scott:

I picked & picked at the plywood where
I had made the holes . The ply didn't pull
apart so I glassed the holes back over. With
the motor on the boat I stood on it and
jumped up and down. Nothing moved but the fat
around my middle. So I think it will be fine
for a few more years [4]. IS your boat 20 or
23'? I only ask because I see a 200 on the
stern. Alot of motor for a 20. I saw a new
2002 ***** boat that had its 200 yam. torn
off by another boat. NO wood at all in the
stern just 3/16 glass inside -foam -3/16
glass on the outside. So what I getting at
is try jumping on your motor and see what
happens. IF you can flex it--replace--if it
dosen't your good for a few more yr's. Just
keep your eye on it and no jack rabbit starts
out of the hole. Not that you would no one
does that. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Scott]

Steve
Its a 23'....and yes I've been on the cavitation plate jumping around looking like an idiot [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] ...I get a small amount of deflection on top of the transom maybe a 1/4" ..... down at the bottom of the bracket its rock solid, no movement at all....this is where I've seen failure in other boats...as the motor bracket pushes and crushes right through the hull. I'll put some holes in the transom and see what I can find....

Thanks again
Scott

[ April 03, 2002, 12:16 AM: Message edited by: Scott ]

[Dan]

Scott
Sorry I haven't got back to you sooner but yesterday was my B-day (the big 30)and I've been out celebrating. Anyway, initially about 3/4 of a beer can came streaming out. Then it was like Steve said, drip, drip, drip. I started by removing all screws and thru hulls from the transom starting at the top to try to get an idea of how extensive the wetness was. Like I said previously, I emailed the Rot Doctor a few times and talked w/ an ex boat builder on the E. Shore. We decided that I may have caught the problem in time and that I could probably(hopefully) avoid a transom replacement. The idea being fix it real good by drying it out and injecting epoxy, use the boat for the fishing season, and check it again later to see how things look. I started drilling some small 1/4" exploratory holes starting along the bottom edge just below the trim tabs and workng my way down to the center. The 2 lowest holes were 1". The wood around the drain holes in the splash well was saturated, as was the wood along the bottom edge of the transom below the trim tabs. The top and outer edges were dry and the rest seemed to be solid. It seemed like the water was entering at the drain holes, seeping down, and filling up in the lowest point in the transom. I rigged 2 hair dryers so they would blow warm air into the holes 24/7. Occaionally I would use a wet vac to suck water out. It was like Steve said, there seemed to be pockets of water. I would think I finally got it dry, then I would come home from work and would see a drip on the driveway. When it seemed to be dry for a few days in a row, I started injecting the CPES. I injected the CPES w/ a very large syringe in the drain holes of the splash well until it started coming out the bottom holes. I then plugged the bottom holes until it came out the top. Yes, I do like the CPES. It penetrated very well. I have used Get Rot before and have also been satified but I think the CPES is better for a transom repair b/c it will penetrate farher. To continue, all of the places that I picked out wood, I packed w/ marinetex to fill the void. I then sealed all of the screws and thru hulls w/ 4200. I know I didn't get out all of the moisture but I think I fixed it pretty good for now. It might be about time to drill a test hole just to see how it looks. However, I don't like drilling holes on my boat!!!!! It's not natural. I will have my fingers crossed and a rabbits foot in my pocket. I hope this answers your questions somewhat. Feel free to ask me anything else.

Dan

[Scott]

Dan
First off Happy Birthday!!
Thanks for the detail about the transom...It sounds like we have a very similar situation...My transom does seem to be dry up higher and wet down low....Like you ... I want to be sure that going out the inlet I dont leave something behind!!! That would not be cool.....and truthfully I dont think I would...its solid....I think its just playing mind games with me knowing whats going on back there. I'm going to have to get the motor off the boat and see whats under that wood [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] cap....I'm scared to think about it but it might just make up my mind for me.

As it is I just ordered ,today, 3 gallons of resin and a bunch of cloth to start the hatch rebuilding...

Trayder thanks for the info on LBI Fiberglass ... those guys (Peter and Brian) are really good.. and very helpful [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Scott