Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

[srimes]

Hi All, just got my first boat, and it's a "project." 1979 15' tri hull with a 70 horse chrysler. It rained on the way home and the outboard splash well filled up. It has a drain hole but the motor bracket plugs it. I think this is why the transom is wet.

I noticed today while poking around on the inside after scrubbing out the bilge a soft-ish spot on the transom. Poked it with my pocket knife and it gave a little crack and went in 1/16-1/8" and when I push on it water came out. This is on the inside of the boat.

I realize that at some point in the near future the transom will need to be replaced. I just hope to be able to use it a couple of years before diving in to extensive repairs or finding a new hull.

My question is how long can I run and and what should I look for as it gets worse? Or will it look fine until the motor just falls off one day ? When is a transom "too bad" to use the boat?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

it's gone..... nobody can tell you "it's alright to run" the integrity of the wood has been comprimised and that it always a timebomb

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

I realize that at some point in the near future the transom will need to be replaced. I just hope to be able to use it a couple of years before diving in to extensive repairs or finding a new hull.

Well consider this the future...... it needs to be replaced NOW and forget the couple of years of use.......

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

nobody can tell you "it's alright to run"

Well nobody will tell him now.....

sorry to say it does not sound good.....before making a decision on wether to run it or not I would do some more exploration. drill some small holes from either the inside or out and see if you have any good wood in there at all. some water in there is not all that bad but the fact that your knife made a crack in it is not good at all.....run it a few times to check out the motor and stuff maybe....but 2 seasons, probably not.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

You shoud be able to stand on the cavitation plate without the transom moving more than 1/4 max, if it movesd more than that you are really going to be tempting fate.

It is repairable now, once the motor rips it off it isn't so you lose the boat and the motor.

Transoms deal with a tremendous amount of force, think about how much force it takes to push your baot top speed through the water, *** to that an outboard is essentially a big lever, attached at the top wioth the force applied to the bottom, so it multiplies that force.

So, if it moves more than 1/4'' with you standing on the motor I personnaly wouldn't run it.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

WHat more do you need to know, water came out.

The question now is "How do I fix this".

My splashwell starting cracking open just from trailering it to the ramp, I knew it was in need of repair but wanted to run it gently just a couple times.

Put some plywood in a bucket of water and see how long it take to delaminate. A few days max.

 

[srimes]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

sorry to say it does not sound good.....before making a decision on wether to run it or not I would do some more exploration.

I crawled back in there with a scratch awl and screwdriver and started poking around.

1st, most of the transom is not fiberglassed on the inside. It's tabbed in and then what looks like overspray from the chopper gun extending up a few more inches after that. Just a thin layer not really structural.

2nd, from what I could see the transom mostly looks dry and solid. The only wet spot I found was an area about 3"x4" below the splash well drain hole. And of that about 1.5"x2" looked pretty bad. The cracking when I poked it was from whatever thin coating was on the wood, but the wood is soft and wet there.

Is this a small enough area to be fixable? It is between the lower motor mount bolts. I'm thinking I could dig out the rot, fill it in, and run a 2x4 across the transom and longer lower motor mount bolts (or whatever they're really called).

I'd also plug the splash well drain and put in a new on that works.

You shoud be able to stand on the cavitation plate without the transom moving more than 1/4 max, if it movesd more than that you are really going to be tempting fate.

Ok, I'll try that. That's with the motor down, right?

My splashwell starting cracking open just from trailering it to the ramp, I knew it was in need of repair but wanted to run it gently just a couple times.

So what happened? Did it fail?

Put some plywood in a bucket of water and see how long it take to delaminate. A few days max.

You're using the wrong plywood. Good plywood will last until it rots. Interior plywood will delam, and you can speed up the test by boiling it. Interior ply will fail in minutes.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

1st, most of the transom is not fiberglassed on the inside. It's tabbed in and then what looks like overspray from the chopper gun extending up a few more inches after that. Just a thin layer not really structural.

To get a proper idea of the condition, drill a series of 1/4" holes into the transom from the inside, spaced about 12" apart. Careful not to drill thru. If the wood comes out dry then maybe its not too bad, but if all the test drills are wet then you know what comes next. You will soon learn the full extent of damage.

When done, fill the holes with epoxy and wooden dowels and seal them good.

As to the 2x4 approach, well, its your boat and you assume all the risks. That being said, I've "fixed" a bad transom on a whaler style boat. The transom was obviously bad and was bowed and flexing. The full transom was exposed (no splashwell) so I was able to install a piece of 3/4" marine ply the full size/shape of the transom and bolted thru @ motor mounts, transom eyes and two other locations along the top edge. The ply was also epoxied to the original fiberglass. I then installed a 1/4" alum plate 18"x12" under the motor mount on the outside. The finishing touch was a length of 1/4" alum 2"x3" angle that capped the full transom width and picked up the top two motor mounting bolts. The bottom two motor mount bolts were backed up on the inside with an 18" piece of alum angle. I can assure you that the transom was absolutely rock solid and it looked "finished" and quite respectable. I don't advise anyone take the same approach but it worked very well for my own needs.

 

[srimes]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

Ok, I lowered the motor and stood and bounced on the cavitation plate and I didn't see the transom flex at all. The trailer bounced so I hooked a tape measure on the transom and ran it to the front of the splash well and did it again but it still didn't measure any movement. I think I'm good to go for now .

I'm thinking of pouring some antifreeze in the splash well in the hopes that it'll soak in and kill any mold and fungus, then seal off the drain and drill a new one. I hope it'll buy me some time to decide if I like the boat and if it's worth fixing. For all I know the stringers are waterlogged too.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Wet transom - when is it too bad to run?

I

So what happened? Did it fail?

The splashweel cracking is the failure, its the sign that the transom is departing from the boat.
I had drilled a small hole to mount a FF and water poured out.
But I figgered I could get a few easy runs on it.

Your transom is 30 yrs old, they don't last that long, especially as you have an unprotected backside on the transom.

None of the tests described showed anything, bouncing on the skeg, banging with a deadblow mallet etc.

Keep a close eye on it if you use it.