Transducer on balsa core hull.

[agallant80]

I installed my transducer earlier this year on my boat. I drilled holes for the screws, filled the holes with 5200 then installed the bracket with screws. After that I made sure there was a fair amount of 5200 around the screws. What are the chances it will leak and damage the transom?

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Not much more you can do. I wonder why Bayliner still uses wood in the transoms in this day & age!

 

[alldodge]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

I installed my transducer earlier this year on my boat. I drilled holes for the screws, filled the holes with 5200 then installed the bracket with screws. After that I made sure there was a fair amount of 5200 around the screws. What are the chances it will leak and damage the transom?

There will always be a possibility water could come in around the screws but you have done all you can to impede it. I don't see the chances as great but due to the thickness of the Bayliner transom you don't have a lot of room to play with. My Formula transom is over 4-inches thick so I can use a bit longer screws but torque isn't what will keep it from leaking but it can help. Suggest checking for play every season and if there is none then you should be fine.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Long term, very good chance of failure. Overtime sealants shrink as does the wood, allowing moisture to penetrate the joint. Biggest problem, you don't know the failure occurred until it's too late.

Frequent checks and periodic re-application of sealant will keep problems to a minimum

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Balsa is one of the best water resistant woods available. If it did leak, it wouldn't do anything. Besides, the balsa is sandwiched between glass and if the screws did leak the exposure would be minimal. When I was a kid we used to pick it up off the beach down in Galveston, TX. and no telling how long it had been submerged but nar a bit rotten.

Worry about something else.

Mark

 

[CheckmateEnticer]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Balsa rots but not in salt water. Not very fast at least. Water travels very slowly through end grain balsa laid up in cores. Balsa has been used in cores of decks and hulls of boats for years but I've never seen it used in a transom. I may very well be wrong but I doubt Bayliner is using balsa cores on any of their hulls. Somebody please correct me if Im wrong. Are you sure the transom is not marine plywood?

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Balsa cored transom?

Truth is any penetration is a chance for water to get in. Someone above stating that due to it being a Bayliner you stand more of a chance (that's how I read it) I don't agree with. Any wood core where water can get in runs the risk of rot.

Your best bet is to reseal it on a maintenance schedule... That is if it bothers you that much. You could also oversize the holes, fill with epoxy and then screw into the epoxy.

 

[MAC ATTACK]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

I quit putting screws through the transom. With the products available today (sternsaver, epoxies etc.) I just do not want to chance it. 5200 is one of the best sealants out there, but ALL sealants will fail eventually. I agree on inspection, re-seal etc. On my new-to-me boat I removed all of the screws below the water line and filled the holes with Marine-Tex. My transducer is now screwed to a fiberglass block that I epoxied to the transom.

When I first removed the old transducer screws (looked good from a visual inspection) water dribbled out. Hopefully the Carolina Skiff claim of 100% composite construction is true!

 

[dingbat]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Balsa is used on larger boats to core the hull sides. I suspect the same is true for Bayliner.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Balsa is used on larger boats to core the hull sides. I suspect the same is true for Bayliner.

Yes it is, I had a balsa cored boat. However the transom on an I/O shouldn't be balsa cored. I would imagine plywood core.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Yes it is, I had a balsa cored boat. However the transom on an I/O shouldn't be balsa cored. I would imagine plywood core.

Could be. I should have named it wood core instead of balsa core.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Transducer on balsa core hull.

Do you store your boat in the water? If you don't I don't, think you are going to have a problem.