1976 Fiberglass Roughneck Transom Iissue

After pulling the motor on my Roughneck I found some issues and would like some advice as to how I can handle it. Here is the first thing I found when I removed the motor mount bolts...

...when I saw this I had some major concerns about the integrity of the transom. Then I probed the bolt holes and a small hole on the inside of the transom. I found that the bolt holes have about 1/2" to 3/4" inch of punky wood around them on the inside and the whole has about 1/4" of punky wood.

The inside top of the transom has a break in the gel-Coat where the washer for the bolt that holds the tilt and trim.

The rear of the transom appears solid and sounds solid except for a small change in sound between the mounting bolt holes. I used a rubber hammer to check it. I've had some suggestions that would just suggest repair instead of replacement. I hope that is possible but I want to be sure.

Re: 1976 Fiberglass Roughneck Transom Iissue

Well to start with the rubber mallet really isn't a good way to check a transom. You'll need to drill a few test holes (don't go all the way thru) from the inside and see what the wood chips looks like. But if you have rotten wood (not sure what punky means) at the engine mount holes then I'm sure you transom is in need of replacement. Unfortunatley there really isn't a patch for that, the only repair is to replace the rotten wood.

Now some here have used SeaCast or Nida (it's a composite pour in material). Do a search on transoms here and you'll get plenty of information about the composite pour in materials.

Let us know where we can help and we'll be glad to answer any questions you have.

Re: 1976 Fiberglass Roughneck Transom Iissue

A 35 year old boat, with hardware in that kind of condition, would indicate to me that the transom needs replaced, NOT repaired. Wood that has begun to deteriorate does NOT STOP! If you have an attachment to the boat and want to keep it and use it then I would STRONGLY recommend you prepare to replace the transom. CW ^^^ is correct in that you can use composite material or wood, but IMHO it needs to be replaced. Post some pics of the entire stern of the boat, both inside and out so we can all get a better idea of what you are dealing with.