wallacejones
Cadet
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2013
- Messages
- 10
So i got this boat for a decent price and the Mercruiser 165 had only 370 original hours. It ran like a top, compression was great on all cylinders. But the transom allowed a constant large volume of water in which caused the bilge pump to engage constantly when the boat was still. While it was underway the pump would catch up, and the leaking slowed down.
When I got a good look at it I discovered a large lateral crack right below the outer transom plate. The previous owner had covered up this area with a form fitting piece of aluminum plate that was screwed into the outer transom shell. When I took the plate off is when I noticed the original damage. It looked like a lower unit strike which put enough force on the transom to crack it all the way through. It may have been that the wood in the transom was already rotted out before the inner and outer shell cracked. The crack was about 10in in length.
I realized that the drive and engine had to come out for the repair. I did not want to use wood again for the transom core so I went on a search for alternative materials that would not rot out. I settled on high density plastic boards, also know as cutting boards. And they worked great for the repair.
Here is a video with highlights of the transom rebuild. Maybe someone can find it helpful in rebuilding a rot free transom.
When I got a good look at it I discovered a large lateral crack right below the outer transom plate. The previous owner had covered up this area with a form fitting piece of aluminum plate that was screwed into the outer transom shell. When I took the plate off is when I noticed the original damage. It looked like a lower unit strike which put enough force on the transom to crack it all the way through. It may have been that the wood in the transom was already rotted out before the inner and outer shell cracked. The crack was about 10in in length.
I realized that the drive and engine had to come out for the repair. I did not want to use wood again for the transom core so I went on a search for alternative materials that would not rot out. I settled on high density plastic boards, also know as cutting boards. And they worked great for the repair.
Here is a video with highlights of the transom rebuild. Maybe someone can find it helpful in rebuilding a rot free transom.
