Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

[MsNewToBoatOwning]

Hi , I have a 1982 Angler , I had a friend mechanic look at it and he said that the transom was degraded and not to operate more than a 35 hp on it . WE HAVEN'T TAKEN IT BACK OUT BY THE WAY , lol .
But anyway , I'd like to reinforce it , repair it , seal it , something that's not going to cost too much and still be SAFE ! Hoping to get back out there before its too cold . Any help ??? :-( thanks .

Em

 

[Watermann]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

Hi Em and welcome to the iboats forum. If you do the labor the costs of a transom repair is not that expensive.

There's a great amount of knowledge here to draw from and plenty of tutorials on transom repairs. A search will show you there's probably 100's of threads on the subject.

Maybe a moderator will stop by and move your thread to the hull repair and restoration thread area. Lots of great people lurking there waiting to help out.

 

[bonzoscott]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

Typically, you drill a 1/8 inch hole 3/8 inch deep (from inside the boat) at the lowest point you can reach on the transom. If the wood coming out is mush your transom is shot. Don't know what you experienced to gather your transom is shot other than mechanic telling you. I would say it would be in the neighborhood of $1000 to replace the transom. And get experienced professional to do it. Trying to "reinforce it" is not a good idea for safety reasons.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

I did it on an 18' alum I/O. Not really a big deal if mechanically inclined. Cost was mainly for a sheet or 2 (don't remember, been 30 years) of 3/4" 5 ply wood, glue and sealer. Glued together gets you 1 1/2" which is what the OEM was.

Glass would be a bit more involved as you would have to grind the glass off, not the whole surface, just where it ties into the rest of the boat, remove the wood, install and glue in the new and glass over it for strength.

Again, the repair restoration section probably will show you how to do it. If not you could get some ideas in working with glass matt and resins. One thing is for sure. Especially in the hotter weather, once you mix up the resin and hardener you had better get with it as they set up really fast. Actually making small batches would work better for me so that you could do it right a piece at a time. On a large area it can overwhelm you......did me the last time I did it. Once it sets up, if not properly spread out, it looks like the rocky mountains and is hard to grind off smooth. Wear a respirator when grinding, not the little mickey mouse round thing with a rubber band.

Mark

 

[krakatoa]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

Well its not that expensive as $1,000.00 I spent over $600.00 in materials including beers : ). Actually it can be a DIY job If you are tools frendly. I just did mine after watch a few videos and threads around here. Take a look at my signature to see my Tramson Resto hope It can bring some light to your project. Reinforce is like a bandage, maybe it will work for "some" time but itsnt the way to go. My tramsom was reinforced before I bought my boat and hold up for some time well.. thats was i thought.. the pics speak by itself.. take a look.

Good Luck!

PD: We like pictures upload some during repair....

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

Thanks for the pics. It shows that rot only spreads. The longer the wait to do the job correctly, the bigger the job.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

he said that the transom was degraded and not to operate more than a 35 hp on it

I'm really curious how someone can come up with an exact number like that when there's a rotted transom involved.

First I'd drill some test holes halfway through the transom from the inside to see what's going on. If the shavings don't come out bone dry and nice and light colored you've got a problem, and I wouldn't operate the boat until it was properly repaired. Look through the restoration section, find someone who's done a boat similar to yours, and see what has to be done. If you're at all mechanically inclined you can do the work yourself, be assured that the boat is safe, and save a ton of money over paying someone else to do it.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Inexpensive TRANSOM repair ?????

I tell you how I figured it out. The boat I bought had sit for about 7 years in a marina with no owner attention and the water marks all the way up the transom told the story.

However, on a boat to be purchased, if no visual gave me a clue, I would tilt (PTT an absolute necessity for me) the engine to vertical. Get my 250# on the anti vent plate. Get somebody standing at the side of the transom looking at where the engine mounts. Start jumping up and down on the engine while they look for deflection. If they see none then I would be ready for a water test with someone watching for deflection while in the boat adjacent to me while I put the boat through it's paces, especially the stress at hole shot time.

Mark