Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

[dwilley]

My dad has a 1989 Stratos 4.3L with an OMC Cobra drive. Last year we had it out and the bilge pump could barely keep up with the water leaking in. After reading numerous posts I finally accepted that the transom could be rotten. It was hard to believe because this boat has probably not averaged one outing per year since it was new and it is always stored inside when not in use. I thought that the transom seal was bad or the nuts just needed tightening but looking under the boat I could see some discoloration and what looked like a crack in the fiberglass (see pic) under the mount. Today we decided to go ahead and pull the motor and see what was going on. I couldn't believe what we found. If you look at the pics you will see a line around the bottom half of the transom hole about an inch in. It turns out that when they (manufacturer) cut the hole in the transom they either had the wrong template or couldn't read a tape measure. They cut the hole wrong and instead of fixing it right they decided to just stick the cut piece back in, can't tell if they put some resin on it or not. You can actually see where they drilled the bottom two stud holes and then filled them in when they realized they screwed up. This wouldn't be a big deal but the first cut went below the transom seal level on the bottom. So for the past 25 years water has been trying to find the cut seam and now we have a mess. My questions:

1. Now that I know I have a rotten transom how do I fix it? My dad is going to take the boat to a body shop this week to get an estimate but I want to make sure it gets fixed right so this doesn't happen again. I would like to fix this myself but I'm not sure the best way to do it. We do our own auto-body work so I'm fairly confident we have the skills and tools to fix this.

2. I'm going to replace the transom seal, u-joint bellows, and outdrive gasket while I have it apart. What else do you guys recommend I fix why I have the motor out. I thought about replacing the gimble bearing but on a boat with so little hours I don't think I need to.

3. I have read that I need to buy a motor alignment tool especially since I have the motor out. Which one do I need? I saw one on ebay shipped for around $40. How do you use this thing? Do you just move the front of the motor around until it slides in easy then tighten the motor mounts.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Nivekt]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Wow, that is truly unbelievable! I know nothing about transom replacement as I have never done it. All I can suggest is that you head over to the Boat Restoration, Building and Hull Repair section of the forums. There is more than enough information contained within the stickies and various threads to get you on your way.

http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22

 

[rickryder]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Post this in the resto section and you will get a lot of help...... Also do a search on transom replacement..... Getting it done at a shop will be very costly... If your handy you can do it yourself. It is however a lot of work.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

That there looks just like it was cut out the first time for a Mercruiser, then the piece put back in and then the second cut was done, will be a tough fix.
Glen

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

one word comes to mind....WOW....
thats all i can think of right now

 

[rickryder]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

I wonder how much water has made it to the stringers and flotation foam..... Hows the deck? any soft spots? Boats rot from the bottom up so you may have other issues!

Let us know if you want to tackle this job. Many have done it and there is plenty of info,photos and video to use

 

[Chip Chester]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Hmm... Stratos is still in business. Seems their website has a customer satisfaction comment area. Did you buy this new, from a dealer?
I've never seen a more clear case of a manufacturing defect. No possibility of abuse, wear and tear, materials failure, or other excuses.
I would say if your serial number shows it left the factory with that engine/outdrive combo, it would be worth a call. Even after 25 years. Their first response will be denial, of course. Let the games begin...

Chip

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

My thoughts too ^^^. Are you sure the Motor/Outdrive has not been swapped in the past? A transom replacement on an I/O boat is a fairly detail and involved process. You should do some detailed researching here on the forum to gain some valuable insight as to what all is involved. As RickRyder stated, Stringers and motor mounts could be compromised as well depending on how long the leaking has been going on.

 

[dwilley]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

My dad bought this boat brand new in 1989. The motor or drive has never been out of this boat until now. The only work that has ever been done to the boat is oil changes and a carb rebuild. I am going to fix this myself so any advice is appreciated. Depending on how bad the rot goes down, I plan to cut out each layer at a different distance from the hole making a stair step to give more strength. What do I use to laminate the plywood together, resin or resin and glass together, can I use some stainless screws to give it some more strength. I then plan to cut the fiber glass on the outside of the boat down to the original incorrect cut line on the bottom. Then I guess I will fill the missing fiber glass with fiber and resin then sand smooth and shoot a little paint on it. I don't really care what it looks like because you won't be able to see much of it under the drive, as long as it lasts for another 20 years. Then I will glass over the plywood on the inside. I didn't realize that Stratos was still in business, I will call them but I don't think they will care. I would bet that if this would have been a boat that sat in the water all summer it probably would have failed in a couple of years. When they cut the hole too low they should have scrapped the hull and started over instead of botching it back together and selling it as a new boat. What kind of quality control did they have.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[SDSeville]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

I am curious to see what Stratos has to say. I know it has been a long time, but as Chester said - very clear case of a manufacturing defect.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Your plan for repairing the transom is not sound in my opinion. If you research it here on the forum you will find that you need to investigate your stringers and motor mounts to ensure that they have not been compromised by the water intrusion into the interior of the hull. Also the Transom is one of the most critical structures of the hull and need to be one uniform structure. Attempting to laminate pieces to repair what's damaged is usually not recommended by the pro's here on the forum. I totally understand your dissappointment and frustration, however if you want it to last another 20 years, you really need to do some intensive investigation and research on how to do this repair properly. There are lots of guys here on the forum that have gone through similar circumstances and will be more than willing to give you all the help you'll need to get this done properly. Since you are the original owner you have a legitimate issue, however since it's been 23 years I seriously doubt they'll do anything. You can fix this so it will last 20+ years even though the factory appears to not have done it correctly.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

I can't believe they made that cut and just slid it back in place only to cover with the Cobra, unbelievable:facepalm:

Yah, like the guys said, you are likely looking at transom, deck, foam, the works. Sorry man

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

the picture looks like they had the template in the wrong place initially.

I agree with Woodonglass's comments. you need to investigate the amount of rot, then rebuild correctly.

titebond III will work well for laminating the wood.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Wow...simply wow. Looks like someone made an oopsy on the stratos floor and didn't want to lose their job (this is probably the best evidence that re-doing a transom is an expensive and time consuming task)... Rather than doing it over and getting screamed it, I can picture his buddy saying, "just take that piece you cut out and glue it back in...Once its covered up by the transom assembly no one will ever know the difference." I know its not much comfort (especially given the way you guys cared for and maintained the boat), but at least you got 25 years out of it.

 

[dwilley]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Thanks for the comments so far. I am at a loss how something like this could make it out the door. I can picture the guy on the production line putting the template on an inch and a half to low and then just glueing the piece back in so he wouldn't be late for lunch. I have done quite a bit of searching but could you guys post some links to threads that will help me. I need to know what kind of resin and fiberglass to use, and how to attach the wood to the boat. I also need to know how to build up the fiberglass on the outside and make sure it sticks and won't let the water find the seam. Also, what kind of paint can I use to seal the outside, I saw on another thread someone said you can buy the gel to make it look like factory, or hopefully better than factory in my case.

Thanks

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

could you guys post some links to threads that will help me.

Here's a great one:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=510077

 

[g_speran]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

Here are some great educational video posted by FriscoJarretts http://www.youtube.com/user/FriscoJarretts/videos?sort=da&view=0&page=4 . They are pretty addective. Goes thru the entire rebuild of his Searay. Part of these is tearing out the transom and rebuilding it.

Enjoy
Gary

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

That there looks just like it was cut out the first time for a Mercruiser, then the piece put back in and then the second cut was done, will be a tough fix.
Glen

Howdy,


Um...probably not. The Mercruiser cutout is identical to the Cobra Cutout.


The original worker simply screwed up. and yes, a very good example of very shoddy workmanship....

If it were me, I would scrap the boat and find another one with a freeze cracked/damaged Cobra or Mercruiser engine and drive installed and out that engine and drive in it.


Or better yet, just part out the boat and find another.

The amount of work to replace the transom (stringers and floor too since they might be rotten too) if you have you pay someone, causes the cost of doing so to exceed the value of the boat by a wide margin.


It can be done but it's an enormous amount of work.

Sorry about that,


Rick

 

[Brenn]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

sorry about your bad luck,youre in the right place though for help from everyone.I will look around for some threads to help you out as well.

 

[R Socey]

Re: Rotten transom (you won't believe why), how do I fix it?

That really sucks bad; I hate to see that kind of deriliction - I feel bad for you.