87 Ranger 390V Bass Boat Transom ?s

[BigBoatinOkie]

My wife's uncle has an 87 Ranger 390V 21' bass boat that is in need of a transom. Since I have been restoring my I/O and have gained some knowledge about boat restoration, he asked me if I would be interested in replacing his transom for him. I'm not sure if I want to or not because I really know how hard a job it will be. My Wellcraft had good access to the transom from the inside so I didn't have to pop the cap to replace the transom. Looking at his bass boat, it seems as though there is no other way to get to the transom without taking the cap off because the splash well is in the way. Is that the common way to do it, and is that a major pain in the rear? I've also heard that the cap is bonded to the hull by foam on older Rangers. Is that true also? If so, how the heck would you replace the transom? I don't have any pics and I've only seen it once so I can't describe it very well. If anyone can give me some info, please do. Didn't find much on Rangers with the search function. Thanks.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 87 Ranger 390V Bass Boat Transom ?s

The ranger caps are glued and tabbed in MULTIPLE spots.

My best advice as much as it hurts....... seacast or nidabond for that transom..... it will be the shortest route to take.

 

[Isaacm1986]

Re: 87 Ranger 390V Bass Boat Transom ?s

I did 80% of a 76 ranger bass boat restore. Like bob was saying, the caps are glued on as well. I cut the transom cap with a sawzall, took a chainsaw and ground up all the rot, and then vacumed it all out with a shop vac and a 2' section of 3/4" PVC. Worked really well. I then poured it with nidabond. I did not get 1 hole in the bilge area sealed enough and lost some of the nidabond into the bilge area. So make sure you get all the holes sealed really well! Once the stuff was set, it was hard as rock! But I had to give up on the project to pay for a repair bill to my jeep. anyway, here is the thread if you want to check it out.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=370311

Hope this helps.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: 87 Ranger 390V Bass Boat Transom ?s

The ranger caps are glued and tabbed in MULTIPLE spots.

My best advice as much as it hurts....... seacast or nidabond for that transom..... it will be the shortest route to take.

I've kinda been wanting to use one of those products on a project sometime, now I can use someone else's boat for a guinea pig. I believe this is one of those boats that has kind of a three sided stern, with the actual transom being about 3 feet wide in the middle and then it angles forward at the sides. Does that make sense? Would I only need to pour the seacast/nidabond in the middle section where the motor is mounted? Do the angled sections on each side have a wood core as well?

Isaac, I actually ran across your thread when I did a search. I have looked it over thoroughly. Bummer you had to give up on it.

I think we will be paying her uncle a visit tomorrow night and maybe I can snap some pics so you guys can see the thing. I know it's hard to give advice without pics.