Hey everybody! I'd rather be posting under better circumstances, but I think my transom may be toast... I have a 1992 sailfish 190 sport dual console. I first noticed this problem when I was putting on & taking off my transom saver. It seemed like the outer fiberglass skin was pulling out and moving back in with the tilt/trim bracket whenever I was putting stress on or taking stress off the transom. It looks exactly like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0UZ3cd0xU
I also have noticed that my transom would making light popping noises while trimming the motor up and down, or if I planed out really fast. The motor also seems to wobble a little bit when I go over large waves or if I'm trailering it down the road & go over bumps. The transom seems to bend in maybe 1/4" where the motor bracket rests. Also, the aluminum transom cap seems to be pushing out away from the boat now which also worries me. I checked the transom from the bilge side & noticed that there is a gap between the interior wall of the transom and the beginning of the splashwell wall. I hope that makes sense. This gap is about an inch thick & filled with some green composite material that is hard as a rock. The stern of my boat has a baitwell on the right & another compartment on the left side that leads to the fuel bulb & other connections. The transom then goes down in height about a foot to where the engine is mounted. The splashwell I am speaking of is right in front of the engine. The transom cap that the motor bolts over seems to include the transom as well as this inch gap that is filled with a composite material. Meaning that when the engine was installed, they had to bolt through both the transom & this hard composite material. The boat only had 2 pre-drilled holes from the factory, so the dealership I bought the engine from had to drill two more holes. I think when they drilled these holes, they cracked the composite, filler material in half. I have seen a few crumbling bits of the composite in my bilge. I have also noticed that there are spider cracks forming where the splashwell meets the walls of the compartments on each side. They aren't extreme by any means.
Basically what I am wondering is: Do yall think my transom is bad, or is this inch of crumbling composite filler the cause of the popping & little bit of flex in my transom?
The sides of my transom that are behind the baitwell & the other compartment feel solid. Its just the center section that seems to be flexing alot. Could I replace the crumbling composite with seacast or wood and be good to go or do yall think I have bigger problems?
Other possibly useful info: The boat was ripped off the trailer onto the ground several years ago when some thieves decided they wanted my trailer. They attached a chain to the two stern eyes and wrapped the chain around a tree to keep the boat still while they stole the trailer. The two stern eyes have never been as tight as they once were after this. They have always been loose.
I also do not believe that the dealership sealed the holes very well after the motor install. I could see water dripping into the bilge around the bolt that goes through the transom & crumbling composite.
I think I'm looking at replacing a transom, but want to check & hear some other people's opinions first.
Some people have suggested an aluminum plate covering the center section of transom and wrapping over the transom cap into the splashwell. Would this work? I realize this is putting a bandaid on a bigger problem. I just don't want to put over $1,000 into this boat because its now 19 years old.
My engine is a 2001 150hp Yamaha HPDI with only 250 hours on it. Another thought is that I could buy a newer boat hull for around $7,000 to $8,000, rig it with my fairly new engine, and put that boat on my 5 year old aluminum trailer. I think this would be a wiser decision to invest my money in a newer boat hull.
If I can pop the boat's cap, go to town with a chainsaw on what's left of the transom, and seacast a new transom in for under $1,000...then I'll do it. I just don't want to get into it and realize that I have rotten stringers too and end up spending $10,000 restoring this boat from the inside out when I could have just bought a newer boat hull for $7,000.
The first attached photo shows the back of the boat and the 1/4" bend in the transom.
The second photo shows the transom cap separating
The third photo shows the cap separating and the spider cracks where the splashwell meets the wall
The forth photo shows the transom cap bending out away from the transom.
Thanks for reading this book I just wrote. hahaha.
Ben
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0UZ3cd0xU
I also have noticed that my transom would making light popping noises while trimming the motor up and down, or if I planed out really fast. The motor also seems to wobble a little bit when I go over large waves or if I'm trailering it down the road & go over bumps. The transom seems to bend in maybe 1/4" where the motor bracket rests. Also, the aluminum transom cap seems to be pushing out away from the boat now which also worries me. I checked the transom from the bilge side & noticed that there is a gap between the interior wall of the transom and the beginning of the splashwell wall. I hope that makes sense. This gap is about an inch thick & filled with some green composite material that is hard as a rock. The stern of my boat has a baitwell on the right & another compartment on the left side that leads to the fuel bulb & other connections. The transom then goes down in height about a foot to where the engine is mounted. The splashwell I am speaking of is right in front of the engine. The transom cap that the motor bolts over seems to include the transom as well as this inch gap that is filled with a composite material. Meaning that when the engine was installed, they had to bolt through both the transom & this hard composite material. The boat only had 2 pre-drilled holes from the factory, so the dealership I bought the engine from had to drill two more holes. I think when they drilled these holes, they cracked the composite, filler material in half. I have seen a few crumbling bits of the composite in my bilge. I have also noticed that there are spider cracks forming where the splashwell meets the walls of the compartments on each side. They aren't extreme by any means.
Basically what I am wondering is: Do yall think my transom is bad, or is this inch of crumbling composite filler the cause of the popping & little bit of flex in my transom?
The sides of my transom that are behind the baitwell & the other compartment feel solid. Its just the center section that seems to be flexing alot. Could I replace the crumbling composite with seacast or wood and be good to go or do yall think I have bigger problems?
Other possibly useful info: The boat was ripped off the trailer onto the ground several years ago when some thieves decided they wanted my trailer. They attached a chain to the two stern eyes and wrapped the chain around a tree to keep the boat still while they stole the trailer. The two stern eyes have never been as tight as they once were after this. They have always been loose.
I also do not believe that the dealership sealed the holes very well after the motor install. I could see water dripping into the bilge around the bolt that goes through the transom & crumbling composite.
I think I'm looking at replacing a transom, but want to check & hear some other people's opinions first.
Some people have suggested an aluminum plate covering the center section of transom and wrapping over the transom cap into the splashwell. Would this work? I realize this is putting a bandaid on a bigger problem. I just don't want to put over $1,000 into this boat because its now 19 years old.
My engine is a 2001 150hp Yamaha HPDI with only 250 hours on it. Another thought is that I could buy a newer boat hull for around $7,000 to $8,000, rig it with my fairly new engine, and put that boat on my 5 year old aluminum trailer. I think this would be a wiser decision to invest my money in a newer boat hull.
If I can pop the boat's cap, go to town with a chainsaw on what's left of the transom, and seacast a new transom in for under $1,000...then I'll do it. I just don't want to get into it and realize that I have rotten stringers too and end up spending $10,000 restoring this boat from the inside out when I could have just bought a newer boat hull for $7,000.
The first attached photo shows the back of the boat and the 1/4" bend in the transom.
The second photo shows the transom cap separating
The third photo shows the cap separating and the spider cracks where the splashwell meets the wall
The forth photo shows the transom cap bending out away from the transom.
Thanks for reading this book I just wrote. hahaha.
Ben
.
