Rotten transom or other damage?

[homelessduck]

I recently bought a 16" fiberglass boat with a 100hp Johnson. I just took the boat to the lake to test the engine and it ran great! Now I am wondering about the condition of the transom. There is a large crack in one of the corners and spider web cracks in the opposite corner. It looks like someone damaged it but I have no idea how to tell if my engine is going to sink to the bottom of the lake. I pushed hard on the engine and looked/felt for movement, nothing. I stabbed around at the wood on the inside of the boat and it was very solid.

If it is rotten, I am not seeing a "cap" so I'm guessing it would have to be cut out(?). I am in the process of re-doing the interior and having it painted but I obviously need to figure out this issue first.

[homelessduck]

More.

[PeteyD]

Im only new to boating and restoration, i have a small project on the go, so i can only give my two cents until others chime in... a larger inspection might be in order to see if you have rot in some places. Some people drill holes to check out the wood condition.. I installed a new fish finder in my boat and waited over night for the water to leak out of the transom... How is the floor? soft? stringer condition? Looks like something was mounted on the corner maybe over torqued and cracked under way? the best thing guess would be to for the crack would be to grind it out and reglass it.. But be prepared on what else you might find..Also I had cracks in my transom which ended up being wet and rotten.. Before i started into repairing my boat i marked the ends of the cracks and monitored them for progression, I knew they were a problem and sure enough they were growing in length.. Id wanna know if your cracks were from a previous impact or fatigue over time, that way reinforcing with glass would be in order... Hope i dont lead you astray.

[PeteyD]

Is that the splash well? are you sure theres no cap?

[jbcurt00]

Any idea what these 2 holes are from? It appears that a bracket was over tightened & cracked the fiberglass, you can see the impression of the square bracket in this pix:


Ski pylon maybe?

There isn't a cap to remove & gain access to the wooden transom beneath all the fiberglass. But you definitely don't want to spend money redoing the interior & painting the exterior before you assess the transom. Pre interior, I also hope you thoroughly checked the deck before planning an interior update A transom & deck inspection have to suffice for inspecting the stringers under the deck. W/out removing the deck, assessing the stringers can be challenging.

Welcome to iboats dry dock

Once you assess the transom, &/or deck, cleaning up the holes & the cracking can be addressed. If the transom needs attention, the holes & cracks can be repaired during the transom work...

With an awl, probe every possible area of the transom interior & exterior that you can access. Firm but gentle pressure. Probe those holes I asked about too. If there are any thru deck openings to let you see below deck, look there too. Battery boxes, and if they are still present, seat bases...

The best way to inspect the transom is to use a 1/4" drill bit & test drill a few holes into the transom, from the inside, 3/4"-1" deep. DO NOT DRILL THRU THE HULL......

Dark wet shavings, not good....

Light, dry shavings, good

Post as many pix as you can of under the splashwell & towards the transom & any others you think might be relevant... Pix of the drill shavings too.......

Welcome to the iboats dry dock..

[jbcurt00]

Is that the splash well? are you sure theres no cap?

P: Based on how I read his question, I took the cap question to mean a cap just at the transom area to access the wooden transom below. I'm fairly sure there is a cap on the boat....

Take a breath every now & again, man that 1st post above is hard to read Q's & comments looked good though, not astray, tad early to grind & repair prior to green lighting the transom, IMHO.

Else good...

[PeteyD]

P: Based on how I read his question, I took the cap question to mean a cap just at the transom area to access the wooden transom below. I'm fairly sure there is a cap on the boat....

Take a breath every now & again, man that 1st post above is hard to read Q's & comments looked good though, not astray, tad early to grind & repair prior to green lighting the transom, IMHO.

Else good...

Haha im not a writer..

[homelessduck]

Thanks for the replies guys! I did find a tie off hook laying in the boat and it was an exact fit. The floor is very solid. There is one spot near the rear that looks slightly water damaged but it is very firm and does not sag at all. I will take some shaving samples and post the results. Thanks again!

[Yacht Dr.]

It does look like its been repaired in the splashwell area ( white over blue ).

Those other holes look like Lifting eyes for some reason.

Just inspect it as best you can and get back to us. It may not be that big of a deal. You have a LOT of engine back there on a curved trans. ( hard to repair correctly with glass because its basically all hand sanding a Fiberglass repair .. not bondo/filler thing )

Try to determine how your trans is held to the hull and deck/sides.

YD.