Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Questions about boat repairs with our resins and fiberglass: hull patches, transoms and stringers, foam, rot etc.
Fuzz
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Re: Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Post by Fuzz »

The guys have all given good advise. Big thing to remember is you bought the boat for parts and nothing else. Your basic plan for the transom is correct, that's the good news. Bad news is I highly doubt a rotten transom is all you will find. I would think the chances of rotten stringers is pretty high. You quickly get to the point it is not worth repairing unless the boat has special meaning for some reason. And yes when you tear apart factory boats it can make you feel much better about your own work. Even work we might feel is not up to par is much better than a lot of factory work.

OneWayTraffic
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Re: Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

It lasted 40 years, but I was told the stringers were redone about 6 years back. I could open up with a hole saw and look but I'm just about done.

I did buy it for parts, but also wanted to use it a couple of years. It's taken me one year to get the outside of the C17 done, and I'm nearly at the flip stage. I'm thinking that given the nature of the work required, and the possibility that I'd need to do stringers and sole as well that I will cut my losses and bin the whole thing. Motor seems good, which is great and I know the trailer is solid, thanks to the total strip regalv and rebuild I had done on it.

I just have to decide whether to keep the motor on the transom or put it in a garage so I can bin the boat in the meantime. I'd need to build a frame to hold it if so.

Thanks to all those that have posted.

cracked_ribs
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Re: Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Post by cracked_ribs »

Around here it's pretty common to take a boat with a rotten transom and just put a piece of aluminum plate over the whole thing.

I've seen boats run like that for years afterwards, the only issue being a slightly heavier tail end. There's a guy I know a little who's probably in about his tenth year with a sheet of plate over a transom that was black pudding when he slapped the metal on. I think he just got it cut into rough shape, laid on a skim of 5200 and pressed it into place, then trimmed it to fit after.

Not a perfect approach but if you want to run it without major surgery, I'd say I've sent twenty boats like that working fine.
I designed my own boat. This is the build thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=65349

OneWayTraffic
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Re: Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

Thanks cracked ribs but I think I'll pass. I could get an engineering company to do that but it would cost as much as a replacement.

cracked_ribs
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Re: Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Post by cracked_ribs »

Yeah I don't think anyone around here is getting any engineering done...

Cost is generally a 4*8 sheet of plate and a few tubes of 5200. But I probably wouldn't do it either; I'd just rebuild it from the inside.

But the plate guys do it in a weekend, and that I definitely couldn't compete with.
I designed my own boat. This is the build thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=65349

Natalie21
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Re: Advice on what to do rot in transom.

Post by Natalie21 »

One of your responsibilities as a boat owner is to ensure the transom stays tough because it supports the engine or motor that makes your boat work. But contact with water can cause wood to rot after a while. Reinforce a fiberglass boat transom is an ideal solution. You have to remove the old transom on a stable platform. If there’s an outboard motor, you’re obliged to take off the existing pieces of equipment. After you remove the transom, don’t throw the parts away as you may need them for reference. Measuring for the boat transom reinforcement plate is essential too.

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