transom repair...from the outside??

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 14, 2013

This may sound dumb, but bear with me. I've been reading many resto threads lately. I always read cracks, accidental cuts, holes in the hull, gel coat, its all fixable. So I wonder, when a transom repair is necessary, why has nobody ever repaired it by cutting the outside skin? Pl it to the inner skin, and maybe even pl the outer skin back on and tab it back together. If this could be done and work seems to me in some situations and with some boat designs it could make things much easier if you were willing to deal with a little paint variation from touching it up.

I'm more or less just wondering why this can't be done, or is not ever the chosen method. On my old rotten boat this would eliminate removing the cap. I'm terrified of getting a distorted hull. And on stern drives you could leave the motor in.

jigngrub · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

If you're terrified of getting a distorted hull, you better repair that transom from the inside. The outside of the hull @ the transom is what holds the transom to shape and measurement.

Transom repair from the outside is the least desirable and most likely to come out wrong and you'll never mend it back as strong as it was before you cut it.

I'm not saying you can't repair the transom from the outside, I'm saying it's actually the hardest way to do it.

a1964rn · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

"Whenever possible, repairs should be made by removing the inner skin of the transom for cosmetic reasons. The inner skin is often masked by splash wells or other components of the cockpit interior and may involve separating the hull from the deck. Still, unless there is an outstanding reason not to, the work involved in gaining access to the inner skin will most likely be preferable to labor involved with refinishing the transom exterior.

However, if you intend to refinish the boat, removing the outer skin will often provide you with much easier access to the repair area, and may not necessitate the separation of the hull from the deck.

Regardless of whether you choose to gain access from the inside of the boat or the outside, you should always leave a minimum of a three inch perimeter of the original fiberglass structure in place. This is to give you enough material to taper back in order to lay up new fiberglass when it comes time to replace the vacant panel."

Reference:
Fiberglassic Guide to: Transoms, Floors, and Stringers
Fiberglassic Guide to: Transoms, Floors, and Stringers - fiberglassics.com

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Does a transom span the entire rear of the boat? Or just a section of it? Or is this a case by case answer?

Woodonglass · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

There is a WHOLE lot more to restoring the structural integrity of a boat than slapping some PL on some wood and Sticking it back together. You really need to do a LOT more reading and studying here on the forum. It's all here if you look for it. You can and some have done transoms by cutting the outerskin, but as JNG stated it is NOT the preferred method but sometimes it is a Necessary evil.

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

I know the wood must be laminated together and epoxied for waterproofing. Then attached to the existing skin with pb or pl and clamped in place until properly cured. Then the skin that was removed must be re created using several layers of glass and poly, and tabbed back to the old part with about a 3" overlay. Correct?

Woodonglass · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Partially. The most important part is the Inner Lams to the inside of the sides of the hull. the Inner skin needs to be removed an recreated to accomplish the structural integrity of the transom. You don't have to use epoxy. Your boat is made from Polyester resin and glass.

Read and Study this...
"Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Right, and if I use poly it needs at least one layer of csm to accompany it. I knew there is more to it than my brief summary of the process. I was just thinking in the case of an I/o if you cut the outer skin you could do the job and leave the motor in place AND leave the cap on. So I wanted to ask what cons keep people from taking this option.

I imagine it being difficult to create a new outer skin that looks right. I'm guessing you would need to sand the gelcoat off about 3" around for tabbing then gel coat the repair spot.

When I sit down to do something like this I've never done, I make a list of steps and materials needed to do it after weeding through threads on the procedure. If I ever repair a transom I promise I won't just glue in a slab of wood and get a little glass over it

.

I'm also concerned for my dads boat. He gets some poor advice from a friend who knows boats and has a bay liner he's been using for a few years with a floor he cut and wrapped in carpet and screwed over his original floor. I can't seem to convince him that he most likely needs a real floor stringers and a transom. I'm trying to figure out ways to repair his boat as well and get him convinced to do it. I've considered seacast for him. Can it be used for an I/o? And I know the arguments about the cost of it and the pros and cons.

Woodonglass · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Most I/O's don't require the removal of the top cap to repair the transom. You would have to remove the motor. Have you core sampled the Motor Mounts and the stringers? If the transom is bad there's a better than average chance the motor mounts and stringers have issues as well. If so the motor will have to come out. Then you can do the transom from the inside. Some I/O's transoms do NOT extend to the sides of the hull so you really should post some pics the inside of the stern of your boat and we can give you much better advise.

a1964rn · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

mwe-maxxowner said:
I know the wood must be laminated together and epoxied for waterproofing. Then attached to the existing skin with pb or pl and clamped in place until properly cured. Then the skin that was removed must be re created using several layers of glass and poly, and tabbed back to the old part with about a 3" overlay. Correct?

Read the "Transom Repair – How-to" section in the link I posted and it goes through the process step by step. If you use epoxy for the waterproofing, you must use epoxy for the fiberglassing. You cannot use poly over epoxy.

Woodonglass · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

The iBoats forum has more information on the proper methods for all facets of boat repair than any other site on the Internet. If you search, read, and study the posts here on the forum you will learn all you need to know about restoring your boat. It may take you a LOT of hours to get thru them all but that's why this place is called the "Boat Restore University!" The knowledge is here, you just have to dig it out sometimes. You have the added benefit of almost instant help from a multitude of PRO's and People how have "Been There - Done That!" and the Multitude of Pics and vids to Show you how to do it are more plentiful here than anywhere else. I'm a member on the Other two most popular sites an this by FAR is the best on the WEB.

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Nobody has ever drilled any samples on his boat but I am fairly certain I know what we'd find.

jigngrub · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Woodonglass said:
so you really should post some pics the inside of the stern of your boat and we can give you much better advise.

^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^

Not posting pics of the boat you are working on really short-changes you on the anount of specific information you could recieve.

Woodonglass · Jan 14, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Sooo... If you KNOW what you'll find are you planning on a Full Gut Job and doing the Deck, Stringers and Transom??

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 15, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Its not my boat, but I really wanna talk him into it. It may not need it, but I'm sure his floor repair has allowed water to get in under the new piece fairly easily for a couple years now and it appears the gap in his windshield has grown. My old boat (the first one I bought) is either getting a full rebuild or hauled off to a landfill, but its currently sitting in the back yard resting on a few tires and 2 bys. I haven't been able to convince him there is anything more wrong with the boat than the soft spots in the floor which he "fixed"

jigngrub · Jan 15, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Looking at the pics of your old boat:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...t-budget-84-dixie-ski-19-runabout-569875.html

It'll be much easier to work on with the cap removed. You'll be able to gut the stringers and remove the transom and move around in the boat much easier.

There are lots of people on here that had never worked on a boat before that have removed their caps and restored their boats with no problems.

If you build a cradle to hold the shape of your hull when the stringers are cut free you won't have any problems. The people that have problems with deflected/twisted/hooked hulls are the ones that scrimp on building cradles.

If you don't remove the cap on your boat it will add weight to your hull and your hull will be more likely to deflect under this weight.

Trying to remove the transom wood from the outside without the cap removed will be difficult unless the wood is pure garden mulch. A portion of the top of the transom wood is up under the cap.

There isn't an easier way to restore a boat, it's all hard work... and if removing and replacing the transom from the outside was the easiest way, that's the way everyone would be doing it.

mwe-maxxowner · Jan 15, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Alright, that's what I was looking for. I was just curious as to why its never done this way

.

73Chrysler105 · Jan 15, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

The biggest reason I can say why its not done is most but not all transoms cover the entire stern of the boat. in order to properly glass in the cut out section you need 3" around it to properly cover the cut seam. Can you imagine trying to get 54" wide piece of plywood 1.5" thick in a hole only 48" wide? The only way is to do it in pieces but the transom is stronger in a single piece. It is a lot more work to put the transom in from the back but a lot easier to access the transom from the outside. Regarding a Boat nothing is as easy as it looks.

HopinImFloatin · Jan 15, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

sorry to change the subject a bit, but i checked the link to your old boat repair(above a couple of posts)and there was another link within it to a youtube video about 2 part foam. its a must watch video, especially at the end, i nearly wet my pants. Safety first! Sorry, carry on

molo_30 · Jan 20, 2013

Re: transom repair...from the outside??

Easier to do it like this...

The timber paling is screwed to each side to stop the gunnels sagging in.

Don't ask me how many times I hit my head on that.

transom repair...from the outside??

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