transom repairs made

[Isaacm1986]

So i got the first coat of paint on the transom repair, but I need to do a little more sanding and then repaint it. I used that fiberglass reinforced bondo, I never used it before but the guy at the marine shop said it was good. so I gave it a try. I think i still might do a couple coats of epoxy resin over it just to make sure everything is water tight.

here are the before and after pics.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: transom repairs made

I will move this to restoration where it belongs.

That would NOT have been my choice for the repair.......

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: transom repairs made

the guy at the marine shop is full of crap..... The method I gave you is the MINIMUM repair..... now you need to dig that out and start again...... bondo absorbs water and breaks down...... I 'fixed' a leaky rowboat with it 20 years ago when I was a kid and it does not last.....Also in your case that is a structural area and needs to be strong..... reinforced bondo is not gonna cut it

 

[erikgreen]

Re: transom repairs made

For what it's worth, it looks like you did an ok basic repair, that would have worked for maybe 1 season if you'd used something like marine-tex.

Why exactly were you repairing that area? A hole in the glass, rot, ???

I'm not entirely familiar with that form of Bond-o, but I suspect previous posters are right, it'll absorb water and come off.

I guess if what you wanted was for the boat to handle a couple uses a season, and maybe last two more years without repair it might work. Are you planning on throwing the boat out?

Erik

 

[Isaacm1986]

Re: transom repairs made

Well you guys talked me into it. I have done some reading on this stuff, and i guess the marine guy is full or crap. I am going to grind it out, and start over using a pre-mixed fiberglass resin i picked up from the marine shop this morning. talked to a different guy, and he was much more knowledgeable. I will post pics when done.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: transom repairs made

Is your transom shot? Why is there a big 'ol hole back there?

 

[Squid Billy]

Re: transom repairs made

WOW

It looks like you have MUCH BIGGER PROBLEMS than a hole in your glass. From the depth of that hole, ... You need to REPLACE the transom.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: transom repairs made

Sorry for the bad news bud..... you also need to patch the fiberglass after the void is filled..... this will require grinding a taper in the remaining glass as big as the outline I put in your other thread on this and using progressively bigger patches of glass cloth (not matting) untill you have reached the full thickness of the existing glass..... Do a google search on fiberglass repair and read up..... when you do this a second person to cut and handle the cloth who doesn't have sticky fingers is VERY helpfull..... Also very sharp scissors are worth a trip to the store for new ones if you don't have em..... Make sure you have a warm place to do this as the resin won't set up right in the cold weather...... There are two main types of resin... layup/laminating and finishing..... you should use the former for repairs

There are LOTS of good writeups on the web and a few hours reading will be very much worthwhile

Good luck

 

[jonesg]

Re: transom repairs made

auto bondo contains talc to thicken it, its a sponge in water.
Marine bondo with glass contains cabosil to resist water.
I think you're far better off just concocting your own putty from resin, cabosil and chop fiber. Its a lot cheaper too.

But I;d agree with the above posters, it looks like the transom is rotted.
Unless proven otherwise with core tests, assume its shot and need replacing. Its not such a bad thing, plenty of us have done it already.