Chrysler Charger transom repair

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
Finally removed the badly rotted transom. I found out it was 1 3/4" thick. I guess it was a few sheets glued together. The floor support it rotted for about 6" in. I will not remove the good fibreglass floor just to fix the end floor supports. Would removing the rot and epoxy new wood work? I'm hoping so.
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Uhmmm, and How do you intend to reattach the new transom to the boat now that you've cut the entire rear section of fiberglass out of the boat???:facepalm:
 

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
It was badly broken before. There was very small access from inside. New wood, epoxy, fibreglass and caulking. When I first got the boat I said no problem. As I ripped out all rotten plywood /vinyl panels on deck, I knew this was no easy task. The fibreglass from inside the transfom was also badly damaged. I will repair the outside shell and glue it back on with resin. Wouldn't that work? I would hate to give up now....
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Well... you've made it Twice as hard now. You've left nothing to attach the outer skin too.No borders since you've cut to the outer edge. You'll have to wrap your glass around the edges of the sides of the hull as well as the bottom. Trying to get the glass to blend in will be quite tricky. You'll still need to gain access to the inside of the boat to do major glass work there as well. Have you checked the stringers to see if they need to be replaced?
 

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
The stringers are OK. Can't the outer shell be epoxied in place with epoxy or industrial adhesive? The extra fibreglass can be done from the inside. Wouldn't that work?
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Epoxied to What? The transom IS the most structural component of your boat. The forces placed on it by the motor and if you pull a skier or a tube are tremendous. you have to have it glass securely on the inside and outside edges, top to bottom. 8" to 10" double Layers. 34oz' of glass and resin. 1 1/2" of Plywood. What have you done to ensure the Stringers are Good. How do you KNOW??? Did you core sample them? If the transom is this bad it would be VERY RARE for the stringers to have survived.
 

sphelps

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
11,429
Woody has a good point ... sometimes you can knock on the stringers and it may sound solid but the only way to know for sure is to do core samples ...
By cutting the whole transom out you unintentionally created a bunch more work ... I f you did not want to pop the cap off you could have gained access to the transom by cutting the splashwell out in one piece at the gunnels just in front of the splash ... If you plan on continuing I would suggest doing that or taking the cap off ... jmho ..
 

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
I won't be removing the whole floor to better check the stringers or I will just scrap the whole thing already. Would have been easier off building one by scratch lol. I planned to glass over the whole transom with riveted report support wrapping around the hull. Extra glassing from inside as well as it is really cracked everywhere. If I find a good ap to sketch it out, I will show you. I've seen some youtube videos similar to what I planned. The back she'll is just fibreglass anyways, right?
 

NicoPags

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 24, 2014
Messages
217
I won't be removing the whole floor to better check the stringers or I will just scrap the whole thing already. Would have been easier off building one by scratch lol. I planned to glass over the whole transom with riveted report support wrapping around the hull. Extra glassing from inside as well as it is really cracked everywhere. If I find a good ap to sketch it out, I will show you. I've seen some youtube videos similar to what I planned. The back she'll is just fibreglass anyways, right?

These guys are pros. You have made the boat structurally unsafe and are only willing to do half the job to get it back. No it's not easier to build a boat from scratch and you have a very lot of work cut out for you. Hate to say it but you tried cutting a corner buy cutting off the whole transom fiberglass which is your template/skeleton for your new one. If you continue take these pros advice as gospel
 

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
I did not try to cut any corner. The shell of the transom was badly cracked and separated also along the top edge. The shell will still be riveted at the top sides as before. There was nothing holding it on top middle either. The only area cut was the sides and bottom both which will be extra reinforced by fibreglass and rivets maybe even metal brackets if I have to. The 1 3/4" transfom wood will be braced from inside as well with metal and rivets. I see it being way stronger than factory. What am I missing? What else can I do? In no way am I trying to argue with seasoned pros, just open to ideas that can help satisfy the pros at this point.
 

sphelps

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
11,429
Please don't get me confused with a professional ... I am by no means a pro ... But I have done a few boats and it probably would not have been successful if not for all the information and good advice here on the forum ... If you take some time and read and search you can find the answers to many questions .. If not and your not sure about something post some pics and ask questions ... I'ts your boat to do as you wish and no need to satisfy anyone here ... We all are just trying to help as best we can ..
As far as the rivet idea .. I don't quite get what you are saying ... This is a glass boat so glass is all you need to fix it ... The rivets you see are just there to hold the cap on to the hull ..
Was you able to save the outside skin where you cut it along the edge of the hull ? You can use that to make a template for your new plywood transom ...
 

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
The outer skin is saved but pretty busted up.i understand that I cut too close to the edges and screwed up that way. The outer skinny may get scrapped after using it as a template because of the damage. Maybe I'm not sure what everyone means that it won't be strong enough. Glassing a few layers over the edges as well as from inside should be strong enough, no? Taking out the rotted wood would have been very hard with the outer skin in place. What's done is done. I must move ahead. I've taken last few days off as I ruptured my disk. Gives me time to think and read the best way to do this now.
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
It can be done, but 90% of it will be from the inside anyhow, so starting it from the inside is the easiest way to go. The problem you'll run into is that you can't just wrap glass around the transom and onto the bottom of the boat, it will totally mess up how the boat runs at speed, so the outside laminate will most cosmetic.

You'll need to add a good deal more glass to the inside than normal to regain the strength needed.
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
If the boats in that bad of shape I'd just scrap it and start over, you can find free boats in similar or better condition all day long.
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
There are NO rivets or metal involved in replacing a transom on a fiberglass boat. You should spend a LOT of time here on the forum researching and Learning how it's done there area Lot of threads showing and telling you the exact techniques needed for your success. What your are planning is NOT recommended. At the very least You will HAVE to remove a portion of the deck and stringers to install the new transom in the proper manner. If you do not want to research the condition of the stringers and replace the transom in the appropriate manner then you should NOT be working on this boat. It WILL require the correct techniques in order for it to be restored to a safe condition.
 
Last edited:

NicoPags

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 24, 2014
Messages
217
There are NO rivets or metal involved in replacing a transom on a fiberglass boat. You should spend a LOT of time here on the forum researching and Learning how it's done there area Lot of threads showing and telling you the exact techniques needed for your success. What your are planning is NOT recommended. At the very least You will HAVE to remove a portion of the deck and stringers to install the new transom in the proper manner. If you do not want to research the condition of the stringers and replace the transom in the appropriate manner then you should NOT be working on this boat. It WILL require the correct techniques in order for it to be restored to a safe condition.

I agree. The last thing I would do is be mean or rude to anyon, if that's the energy my last post gave. But the reason there are proper ways is people have done it the wrong way and some are not here to tell you about it
 

Glaze71

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
40
I know the back floor supports (bottom stringers?) are rotted but not more than a few inches. So I cut the floor at the back to where there is no rot anymore? I'm sorry I read lots since I started this post but nothing of repairing from my position. I try too hard to think outside the box I guess. I consider myself good with glassing, have good wood working skills and excellent with metals. To me, this looked relatively easy at first. Guess boats are different? Cutting the floor, replacing and reinforcing new stringers, extra glassing the transom from inside and sealing the shell all way around?
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
You have to ask yourself it you want to do this again in a few years or do it NOW!!!

If the stringers are rotting just a little now in a couple more years they'll be GONE!!! Face the Music and remove the entire deck and remove ALL of the stringers and rebuild the boat correctly OR Junk it and get another boat!!! Momma Said. "If it's worth doing, It's worth doing Right!" I'm really not trying to be a Jerk, just trying to help you understand that your boat is in sad state of affairs and needs a Major Rebuild. You've complicated things a bit but it can still be done IF you follow the correct procedures and are willing to listen to reason.

You can learn a lot from this...http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-...nsom-pour.html

One VERY important thing to note is how they left a 3" border of glass when they cut out the old skin. You did not. they also left the inner fiberglass skin. You did not. As ondarvr has stated it's imperative now that the transom be strongly glassed to the inner hull sides and bottom with several fiberglass tabbings to regain the structural strength needed. The outside glass work will be mainly for cosmetics. I would advise you to keep the old skin and reuse it when the time comes. This member did an excellent job on his transom.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...09#post8512409
 
Last edited:
Top