1994 Bayliner Trophy 2002 Transom Core: One, or Three Pieces?

[mcricko]

Hello,
I've seen the most-excellent Trophy rebuild thread here, but it leaves me with a question: is the transom core one, or three pieces? Looks to me like "three", a central piece, and two on the sides, but can't tell for sure. Here's a photo, copied from that thread:


And another view, of a different restoration (from hulltruth.com):

I ask, because I'm contemplating replacing my transom core and wondering what's back there.
Any advice is greatly appreciated,
Rick

 

[mcricko]

Another photo that make it look like "three pieces", but is that original, or did the guy just decide on that approach?

 

[tpenfield]

I see that you have been a member for a while, but have not posted until now.

Looks like 3 pieces. Tell us what you are doing so folks can respond with any guidance that you are looking for.

 

[havoc_squad]

Lifting that boat cap definitely does not look fun.

I hope you took extensive measurements of the stringer setup on that boat if you need to remove them.

That will be double headache with that style of boat since the entire cap assembly sits on those stringers directly and will cause issues if the stringers aren't placed with the cap's fitment tolerances.

 

[mcricko]

Lifting that boat cap definitely does not look fun.

Indeed, and I don't have the space to do it, even if I went crazy and wanted to attempt it.

I see that you have been a member for a while, but have not posted until now.

Yeah, I joined shortly after buying my boat, searching around on the 'net for parts and knowledge for this model.

I ask about the transom construction, after recently discovering that mine is wet, like "saturated" wet. I had a marine surveyor give it a look, and the report was "wet, but not rotten (yet)". The surveyor, (and others) suggested that drying it out is possible, if only to get a little more service out of the hull. Just takes a very long time.

Another approach: after some obsessive YouTube time, I see that it's not completely crazy to replace the transom from the outside, to avoid the hellish-looking task of removing the top cap. Thus my question about the extent of the transom.

Sadly, after more poking-around down there, I've discovered that the stringers appear to be wet, too, so the question may be moot. Looking for another boat, but dang, they're expensive these days. :/

 

[mcricko]

Answering my own question, for benefit of future seekers: user JJB posted here back in 2007 mentioning that he replaced the transom in his '91 Trophy, and during the rip-out phase, he noted that the transom is three pieces. The '94 looks nearly identical.
Same fellow also mentioned that, like me, he didn't have the space, equipment, or manpower to pull the whole top of the boat off, so he just cut the rear part of the cap out. Now, big mystery (to me) is: sounds great, but how does one put it back together?!! That part of the cap is probably subjected to quite a bit of torsion, so it would have to be really strong when glassed back together. Sadly, the pictures posted by JJB are no longer available.

 

[ondarvr]

You can do it from the outside, but like experienced by others, the problems aren't typically confined to just the wood in the transom. This means more of the interior structure needs to be torn apart to fix everything, so it's becomes easier to not touch the outside.

From the outside you need to measure in at least 4" from the hull sides, more is better, and make a cut that only goes through the outside skin. Normally you can now peel off the outside skin (laminate) and save it for later.

Getting all the wood out can be tricky, sometimes it's nothing but pulp, other times much of it might be good, so get creative.

Cut the new wood (core) to fit, while larger pieces are better, using multiple smaller pieces of core (wood, foam, or whatever) is fine. There are multiple ways to bond it in place, putty, CSM, etc.

What's left of the transom on the boat, the 4+ inch section around edge of it, needs to tapered with a grinder to almost nothing. From untouched at the radius, to very thin where it was cut. You do the same thing with section of the transom you cut and peeled off in the beginning, grind the outside edge of it in a similar taper to what was left on the boat.

The next step is to bond the transom piece back in place, then glass it in place. You just fill the tapered area you created with glass. You may or may not need to cover the entire transom with a complete laminate. This may either be done because the specific transom needs it structurally, or just to make you sleep better at night.

Now you need to make the transom look cosmetically pleasing again, so it will take a bit work. But only you need to be satisfied with this step, structurally it means nothing, it will last just as long looking perfect, or ugly.

 

[mcricko]

You can do it from the outside, but like experienced by others, the problems aren't typically confined to just the wood in the transom. This means more of the interior structure needs to be torn apart to fix everything, so it's becomes easier to not touch the outside.

Yep, looks like the stringers are wet, too, so from the inside is probably the only way. Thanks for the details, though, much-appreciated.

At this point, there are no signs of structural weakness in the transom (sagging, cracks, compressed material at the motor mount points). Plan is to finish my current batch of maintenance and upgrades, put it all back together, and go fishing. I'll just have to keep a close eye on it. With any luck, this one has a core made with pressure-treated wood. Apparently, they started using "Greenwood XL" in '94, according to a post I found elsewhere.