Need some transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

I have a 1960s Glasspar Citation (I think that's the model). The splashwell has a crack(see pic), so I'm assuming that obviously there is a cracked transom under there. Also a lot of flex when when I raise the motor.

I do not want to spend a bunch of money fixing it(cause I may only keep it til next year).

Is there a way I can run a brace across the transom(on inside or outside) of transom to reinforce it? The transom is curved btw. I'm not too hugely concerned about the appearance of the repair, but i don't want it to be ungodly ugly.

Can I move the splashwell forward a tad forward to make room for bracing material?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

I'm new on this site but ill try!your transom is rotton,I'm sure you know thisalready' you can get a" bracket,or. "L" brackets to reinforce it,rigid and no flex is what you want!a cap install of 3\4 ply in and out!thru bolt both pieces and seal up then a or l bracket,this is ghetto!it will work though.pattern the patck after the original design.where are you in the country?this is simple to do and it will hold up!good luck,greg

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

A buddy of mine ran all thread rods with nuts from his transom forward through the front of his splashwell to tie the two together. It sort of made the whole rear of the boat act as one again. He put two pieces of aluminum angle iron over the front edge of the splashwell and a huge plate under the motor too. Its worked for many years now. The transom wood on his boat has been gone for years, the transom tie down eyes flop around and there's probably nothing in the upper corners at all. My bet is that it'll all just break up one day and sink. He must think so too because he's got a rope tied to the motor with a buoy tied to the other end. I guess that's so he can retrieve the motor if it drops off.
Again, it ain't right, but it works for him, at least for now or until it fails completely.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Problem with this solution it that the transom will be too thick if I sandwich ply on both sides. My motor clamp won't fit then... unless I get rid of the splashwell or at least move it forward(if that's even possible).
The other issue is that the transom is CURVED. Not sure how to wrap ply(or whatever) around the curve.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Can you post some pics of what your working with? A curved transom is harder to repair. The only SAFE way to repair this is to replace it. I wouldn't take the chance of risking my own or someone elses life with a "ghetto" repair.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Same boat as in this thread:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=344202&page=1

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

We DON'T recommend GHETTO repairs to Transom's here on iBoats!!!!! It is NOT SAFE and the DON'T WORK! The Transom is The MOST important structural part of the boat. If it fails you will find your motor and boat at the bottom of the lake. The ONLY way to repair your transom is to remove the rotten wood and replace it with new fresh fiberglass encapsulated wood. There are PLENTY of examples here on the forum for you to reference. You should NOT attempt any BAND AID fixes unless you are prepared to pay the consequenses of a catastrophic failure.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Materials needed for temporary transom repair:
Chewing gum
Baling wire
Roofing tar

Tools needed:
Hammer
Large standard screwdriver

Instructions:
1. Use screwdriver to pry open crack and insert generous amounts of freshly chewed chewing gum (Juicy Fruit has the best adhesion, but Fruit Stripe is a close second). Remove screwdriver from crack.

2. Use screwdriver and hammer to punch holes in transom on each side of motor for baling wire (preferably above the water line, but if you don't know where the water line is it's ok).

Pull baling wire back to the inside of the boat to something sturdy like a seat base and wrap it around 3 times then twist the 2 ends together. Take screwdriver and put it half way up the loop you just made, insert screwdriver between the 2 strands of wire and twist until the wire tightens up nicely... but not too tight or the wire will break and you'll have to start over. Repeat for second side of motor.

3. Smear roofing tar over crack liberally (you can't use too much of this stuff, gob it on)
and you're finished!

See you at the bottom (on my sonar)!!!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Since we are not rich I think Aluminum L brackets will do. Go to your local fab shop and have them bend two pcs for the corners make them as large as possible and bolt with stainless bolts. With a 15hp should hold up, you will have more torque on the transom hitting pot holes on the rode with the motor up than you will in the water. Please let us know how it works so others can learn.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

That may actually make a nice boat if you fix it right and put a coat of paint on it. With the period correct motor, and original wire steering, I bet a lot of the other original hardware is still there. Just something to think about.

Regardless, the transom may have a slight bow to it because it is rotten, there are very few small boats that actually came with a curved transom just because of the extra work involved to make it. You will have to check out the transom in detail to determine if it just sagged due to rot, or was made that way.

BTW, I think Glasspar have a following. Go to fiberglassics.com and look up the glasspar line of boats, check out the forums, and see if its a collectable or not.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

I don't think that you're going to be able to fix it to a point where it is going to have any value after you do and still work. If you aren't planning on keeping it. Sell it and buy something else. You can give full disclosure to the next guy or you can keep your mouth shut. Your the one that has to sleep at night. But I doubt anything that you do will make a substantial difference in the crack.

That being said: How much material can you ad before you cannot mount the motor. Take that a get a piece of plywood the same thickness. (if you can only add a 1/4 or less get a piece of plate steel or aluminum.) Take the motor off. Trace the outside of the entire transom. Take that thing and bolt it to the existing transom. Start in the middle and work your way out on both sides. If you can through bolt it then I would do that. If not. Just Lag bolt it. You can paint or you don't have to.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Ithica DB said:

Since we are not rich I think Aluminum L brackets will do. Go to your local fab shop and have them bend two pcs for the corners make them as large as possible and bolt with stainless bolts. With a 15hp should hold up, you will have more torque on the transom hitting pot holes on the rode with the motor up than you will in the water. Please let us know how it works so others can learn.

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure if we were all rich we'd be buying new and bigger boats instead of fixing up our old ones.

I don't any kind of temporary fix working for this problem and all the money that the OP spends on a temporary fix will be wasted.

A boat is an integral unit designed to withstand the stresses of boating. Once the unit has been compromised a temporary fix won't fix it, the unit needs to be put back whole again... like it was designed.

There isn't enough "meat" in the hull of this boat to hold anything like a bracket... just foam and glass.

... but some people just have to learn the hard way.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

I just finished a complete restoration of a 1960 Citation... Took me almost 2 years. Here is the thread-

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=355668

This is what my transom looked like when I popped the splashwell off-



I can pretty much assure you that yours is similar. Glasspar didn't seal the top of the plywood when they built the boats, and they all rotted from the top down...

The ONLY right way to do it is to pop the cap, and replace the wood-



I can also assure you that the stringers are shot, too- And probably the floor. Just a fact of life with this model. The stringers are not sealed or protected in any way- And, there is NO access to the bilge area other than the plug in the transom. So, that means that the floor is going to have to come out....

It is a lot of work. It's going to cost some money. But the boat is worth it- They are a great design. When I got mine, it looked like this-



Now, it looks like this-





There is simply no way to brace or re-enforce the transom that'll be safe... It has to be replaced. The splashwell offers NO structural support, it's only thin fiberglass. If you don't want to do the proper repair to this boat- I'd sell it and move on to a new project- It'll be easier to sell the boat before you make any modifications to the transom!

Also, Check out the Glasspar owners association-

http://www.classicglasspars.com

There are lots of helpful people there, and if you should decided to pass the project on, you might be able to find someone there that wants it!

BTW, That motor probably isn't original to the boat. It's older (57 or 58) and smaller than a Citation usually would have been rigged with (usually at least 50 HP)

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

The verdict is in......the transom is completely soft and rotten to the core! And has black ants nesting in it! Check the video I just took of the transom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7M-8-VMBHY

I just emailed the guy I bought it from. If he refuses to return a good portion of my money....I'll be taking him to small claims court. I'm pissed as all hell about this.

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Sorry to hear that Bonair, I hope you get your money back.

I wasn't trying to be a PITA, I just knew there wasn't an easy fix for the job.


Are you sure that's the same boat andgott?... excellent work there Dude!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Sorry to hear about your luck. Mine was the same, ants and all!!

There is good news- Being THAT rotten, it's easier to remove than if it were solid, or mostly intact. I used a shop-vac to get most of it out. Then it's just a matter of laminating a new one in place- The curved design makes it a little tough, but not too bad.

The other bad news is that the odds are you won't be able to do much with the previous owner- at least not in most states... A used boat sale is as is, where is- And once you shake hands, it's yours... But good luck. One tip- If you do plan on making a case out of it, Don't post or mention anything about the previous owner or the transaction until the legal side of things is cleared up!

If you decided to tackle this project, I can provide you any assistance you need- I've become VERY familiar with this particular boat over the past 18 months

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Quick question about boat registration in NY. When I bought the boat, the seller's kid(seller wasn't home), handed me a registration that was NOT in the seller's name(it was of guy that seller got it from). His name was crossed out and mine was written above it. The seller had never registered the boat in his name.
There's no way that the NYS DMV is going to allow me to register the boat in my name...is there???

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

I don't now New Yorks requirements specifically, but I seriously doubt that is going to work! Does the boat require a title in New York? Here we don't title boats, only register them- so transfers are done with a bill of sale...

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

Re: Need some "Ghetto" transom repair ideas for my Glasspar Citation!

BonairII said:

Quick question about boat registration in NY. When I bought the boat, the seller's kid(seller wasn't home), handed me a registration that was NOT in the seller's name(it was of guy that seller got it from). His name was crossed out and mine was written above it. The seller had never registered the boat in his name.
There's no way that the NYS DMV is going to allow me to register the boat in my name...is there???

Click to expand...

Nope. NY is also a title state. Did you get a title? Seeing as the p/o never registered it, he probably never titled it either. With some luck, he will have the title with the sellers signature on it.