Transom repair on Lakeland fiberglass.

[Scott Danforth]

word of caution is any fiberglass boat under $10k should be considered a project boat unless proven not. just spend a few hours looking at the restoration forum.

however once you restore the hull, it will last at least as long as it did prior, which is 31 years.

 

[jimmbo]

A lot of "woodless" Boats use Foam in place of Plywood in the Transom. I have Never seen a Transom that solid Fiberglass. I know Boston Whalers use Balsa Wood for Structure, but I don't know if that is what they used in the Transom.

 

[kcassells]

Best of luck.

 

[redneck joe]

Find an aluminum with an outboard

 

[redneck joe]

Or think about this.

You spent 1700 on this one. You dont want to spend 2000 (and maybe more) to fix it.

My question to you is are you wanting to be a boater? Will you spend 1700 several times for disposable boats or do you want to put the money in this one so you know it is safe? Or spend 20,000 all at once on a (hopefully) decent boat?

or like i said an aluminum with and outboard is a great option. They have their issues but are cheaper and easier to fix, typically.

 

[briangcc]

All fiberglass boats, unless modern (in say last 10 years), have wood fully encapsulated with fiberglass as transoms. Some may have foam stringers but they are few and far between - rare as hen's teeth if you will.

Or to put it another way...you got a screaming deal on the boat because the previous owner knew something that wasn't shared at time of purchase. Probably getting rid of a headache or two and priced to move so they didn't have to deal with it.

I'd proceed with as thorough an inspection as practical to determine the actual integrity of the transom. You might have lucked out and found the true unicorn in the bunch but going through the restoration forums, that's not too likely.

Now...if you happen to find out that this transom is shot as well, might I suggest a pourable product such as SeaCast? Leave the inner/outer fiberglass in place and clear out all the wood inbetween. Then pour this in and let it set. That will net you a composite transom that won't rot again. It won't be cheap but it doesn't require a ton of grinding IF, and I say IF, the transom is the only issue.

 

[jimmbo]

In the Mid 2000s, Larson, Glastron, and other Genmar Boats, were using Foam in their Transoms, no Wood. It was very dense, like Structural Foam.

 

[Kranjack20]

All fiberglass boats, unless modern (in say last 10 years), have wood fully encapsulated with fiberglass as transoms. Some may have foam stringers but they are few and far between - rare as hen's teeth if you will.

Or to put it another way...you got a screaming deal on the boat because the previous owner knew something that wasn't shared at time of purchase. Probably getting rid of a headache or two and priced to move so they didn't have to deal with it.

I'd proceed with as thorough an inspection as practical to determine the actual integrity of the transom. You might have lucked out and found the true unicorn in the bunch but going through the restoration forums, that's not too likely.

Now...if you happen to find out that this transom is shot as well, might I suggest a pourable product such as SeaCast? Leave the inner/outer fiberglass in place and clear out all the wood inbetween. Then pour this in and let it set. That will net you a composite transom that won't rot again. It won't be cheap but it doesn't require a ton of grinding IF, and I say IF, the transom is the only issue.

I’d say 98% of wood on the rest of the boat is completely solid. All the floors, cabinets, etc. I think the transom went to hell because every time I let off the throttle while driving the boat a bunch of water comes pouring in and soaks the transom. It’s pretty much every single time I let off the throttle no matter how slow I’m going…

 

[redneck joe]

Sorry sir, wood rot takes years not a season or two. If i recall you had this on th water for one season. It was already rotted.

You are in a tough spot, been there in my late 20s. 15 or so boats later i can say I'm still an idiot but i know a lot more about boats than i did then... Mostly from the last 15 years or so learning from this forum

 

[redneck joe]

Oh, and if you are taking in water over the back all the time it is either a crappy design or everything is waterlogged, wood and any foam.

 

[Kranjack20]

Sorry sir, wood rot takes years not a season or two. If i recall you had this on th water for one season. It was already rotted.

You are in a tough spot, been there in my late 20s. 15 or so boats later i can say I'm still an idiot but i know a lot more about boats than i did then... Mostly from the last 15 years or so learning from this forum

No the transom was rotted when I got the boat July 2023. I just didn’t notice until weeks later when I felt the transom and it was soft in some spots. Should have checked before buying the boat. Lesson learned. I didn’t know it was this bad until I just took it apart this past weekend. That’s why I took it apart because I knew it needed to be replaced.

 

[Kranjack20]

Oh, and if you are taking in water over the back all the time it is either a crappy design or everything is waterlogged, wood and any foam.

 

[Kranjack20]

All fiberglass boats, unless modern (in say last 10 years), have wood fully encapsulated with fiberglass as transoms. Some may have foam stringers but they are few and far between - rare as hen's teeth if you will.

Or to put it another way...you got a screaming deal on the boat because the previous owner knew something that wasn't shared at time of purchase. Probably getting rid of a headache or two and priced to move so they didn't have to deal with it.

I'd proceed with as thorough an inspection as practical to determine the actual integrity of the transom. You might have lucked out and found the true unicorn in the bunch but going through the restoration forums, that's not too likely.

Now...if you happen to find out that this transom is shot as well, might I suggest a pourable product such as SeaCast? Leave the inner/outer fiberglass in place and clear out all the wood inbetween. Then pour this in and let it set. That will net you a composite transom that won't rot again. It won't be cheap but it doesn't require a ton of grinding IF, and I say IF, the transom is the only issue.

That sea cast stuff does look pretty legit. Tho it’s ridiculously expensive.

 

[briangcc]

I’d say 98% of wood on the rest of the boat is completely solid. All the floors, cabinets, etc. I think the transom went to hell because every time I let off the throttle while driving the boat a bunch of water comes pouring in and soaks the transom. It’s pretty much every single time I let off the throttle no matter how slow I’m going…

Boats rot from the bottom up, not the top down. I'd seriously look into the rest of the structure...ie, check the stringers too.

Going off picture alone, the mounting bolts for the outboard have a LOT of gunk around them. Guessing it's silicone that the previous owner(s) tried to bandaid a "fix". And I count a couple penetrations for the speedo/transducer and the cable clip which probably weren't sealed correctly letting water in.

You're there, I'm not, but from what you're telling me...I'd be digging really deep to see what I was truly dealing with.

 

[Kranjack20]

Boats rot from the bottom up, not the top down. I'd seriously look into the rest of the structure...ie, check the stringers too.

Going off picture alone, the mounting bolts for the outboard have a LOT of gunk around them. Guessing it's silicone that the previous owner(s) tried to bandaid a "fix". And I count a couple penetrations for the speedo/transducer and the cable clip which probably weren't sealed correctly letting water in.

You're there, I'm not, but from what you're telling me...I'd be digging really deep to see what I was truly dealing with.

I’ve been digging getting a lot of wood out. But there’s a good amount stuck in there between the fiberglass transom. Is there a product that I could use that could help breakdown the wood to make it easier to get it out without it damaging the fiberglass?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I’ve been digging getting a lot of wood out. But there’s a good amount stuck in there between the fiberglass transom. Is there a product that I could use that could help breakdown the wood to make it easier to get it out without it damaging the fiberglass?

you cut out the inner skin, use a grinder to remove the remaining wood bits and scarify the inside hull surface. then you bond the fiberglass to the outer hull and clamp the wood in place until the PB cures.

then you lay new fiberglass and tab in the new inner skin.

 

[Kranjack20]

you cut out the inner skin, use a grinder to remove the remaining wood bits and scarify the inside hull surface. then you bond the fiberglass to the outer hull and clamp the wood in place until the PB cures.

then you lay new fiberglass and tab in the new inner skin.

So tonight I took apart the whole transom. Ripped that fiberglass outer shell thing out and look at the bottom… more fiberglass! There was a little bit of atrociously smelling water in the corner. Probably has been sitting there for decades. When I would squeeze the wood from the transom in that area, water would come out like when you squeeze a wet rag. So I’m not sure if there’s wood or not under there? If there is it’s probably good still because that fiberglass is encapsulating it all. It felt solid. There must be more wood under this fiberglass bottom unless it’s all just solid fiberglass i don’t know. I think I might do that sea cast pourable transom so I never have to do this again. Here’s the pics.

 

[jimmbo]

I would pull that Carpet back a bit to see if it is hiding any Sins. You have to remove any Compromised Wood. As for Encapsulated Wood... If it ever got wet, it is still wet

 

[Kranjack20]

I would pull that Carpet back a bit to see if it is hiding any Sins. You have to remove any Compromised Wood. As for Encapsulated Wood... If it ever got wet, it is still wet

I did I pulled the carpet another foot back. Still all fiberglass.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Those bits of box looking things with carpet on are the floatation. Foam with wood around it.

You have to cut those out too and redo them