cracked transom still stiff

[ohioriverrat]

so i just bought my first outboard boat. small 18ft ranger bass boat to use around the morehead city, nc ICW and nuse river and maybe pamilco sound on calm days. the boat seems very solid and it has a strong motor on it. i got it for what i think is a good price. however it has one small crack in the transom. i have owned a few I/O boats before and with those a cracked transom pretty much spells doom, but this seems to be not that big of a deal. it seems slightly larger than a pressure crack and doesnt flex. the transom doesnt feel soft. but this boat has alot of motor on it and in my opinion really needs to be reinforced. the previous owner has had the boat for a couple years and he said he bought the boat with the crack and he used it for 2 years that way but was always careful not to jam on the throttle too hard and basically take it easy.
the motor doesnt clamp directly to the transom but has 2 vertical brackets on the outside the motor connects to. the crack is on the inside on the transom near one of the braces.
like i said - it doesnt seem very flexy at all and the crack isnt big enough for me to get anything into to test for wetness - so i will have to take some bolts out to check for rot - which i seriously doubt exists.
again - i seriously doubt there is any rot.
so my question is..
just to play it safe for a couple seasons.. what is the best way to add some reinforcement.
is there a premade transom plate i can bolt on?
i know alot of people epoxy and bolt on 3/4 inch marine playwood but im not sure about hte look of that.
i have also heard that an aluminum or stainless steel plate bolted accross the back would be the best.
im seriously considering this but would like to epoxy it firmly to the boat as well as bolt it.
ofcourse since the transom is still solid i have also thought of just doing some fiberglass repair to make sure it doesnt get water logged.. but i cannot see how this could improve strength.
im conflicted.. any and all input is appreaciated.
one thing for sure is that im not putting a whole lot of money or time into the boat, and i dont plan on running it for more than a couple seasons unless it turns out to be a really great boat.

i have a picture if someone can tell me how to attach it or post it let me know

 

[ohioriverrat]

cracked transom still stiff

oops - found the link to attach a pic

 

[ondarvr]

Re: cracked transom still stiff

I hate to tell you, but from the pic it looks bad. Rusty screws or nails through the trim is a good indication the wood is and weak, the crack is also directly in line with the stress from the metal bracket holding the motor. Your best bet is to remove the motor, inspect it carefully and then do the needed repairs.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: cracked transom still stiff

It hard to see what you talking about from the pic. Can you take a few more and post those so we can get a better look?

 

[jonesg]

Re: cracked transom still stiff

Ondarvr got it right,
the transom is shot from where I'm sat.
I had the exact same thing last year.
I used mine a couple of times but noticed the crack getting bigger.
Transom's just aren't repaired if they're reinforced , mine had a pro installed stainless plate with thru bolts and angle brackets, the guy did a nice job but it can't compensate for rot.

I wouldn't bother poking around in a hole, drill into it and look at the wood chips. Theres just no way it can crack unless the core is compressing due to rot. On the other hand its not too bad a job to fix.
So how are the stringers?

 

[ohioriverrat]

Re: cracked transom still stiff

i think the crack is due to the extra pressure the jack brackets have put on it. the motor is on my opinion a little bigger than the boat needs. and the extra weight and torque and probably combined with hitting something have caused the crack. its more of a matter of leverage i think.
i really bought the boat for the motor and will probably just find a new hull within a year or 2. with me and my friend pulling and pushing on the top of the motor we can't get the crack any bigger. when i tap it with a hammer it makes a solid popping sound. down here by coastal carolina if it its not stainless it rusts or corrodes. that it why the screws heads are rusted. the screw heads are going through a bracket that the guy i got it from put on to reinforce it a little. this is a puddle jumpin fishing boat and something i bought to keep at my friends house down on the coast. if it were my primary boat i would not hesitate to put more time and money into it, but i have other much nicer boats for dumping money into.
floor feels solid also. this guy i bought this boat from didnt really use it - he had several boats himself and this one was the odd one out. he was big into flounder gigging and he said this boat just wasnt for him.
basically i bought this boat for $500 and the motor is worth 3 or 4 times that.
the absolute most i would do to this boat is hollow out the back and pour sea cast in it but there really is no reason to do that because like i said.. i doesnt have the tell tale signs of rot - its not soft or flexy, and it pops with a hammer not a hollow thud sound. i think drilling holes into it and tearing the cap off to check for rot would just be silly.
make no mistake - i know there is a crack.. i know its no good to have one, but rather than dump time into fixing the hull i will find another one without a motor for much less i am sure. i just want to limp the boat through a couple seasons while i look around for a nice hull at nice price.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: cracked transom still stiff

That crack doesn't look good, do you have a better pick of the crack ?

with me and my friend pulling and pushing on the top of the motor we can't get the crack any bigger.

Pushing on the top of the outboard won't create much leverage. Trim the outboard up and rock the lower unit (prop) up/down hard,,, while someone has a finger over the crack. See if you can feel the crack moving. (disclaimer, not responsible for fingers getting pinched in the crack)

 

[ohioriverrat]

Re: cracked transom still stiff

yes we put the motor down and i pulled and pushed on the lower unit while he pulled and pushed the top - he said he couldnt see it moving.
we then switched places and i watched from up top while he pulled and pushed on the the lower unit. we did back and forth - side to side - everyway we could think of to get the transom to move, but it didnt move more than an 1/8th inch to the naked eye. obviously it has to have some flex and im sure the 175hp motor puts more torque on it than he or i can muster but all in all it is much stiffer than my fathers transom that has no cracks in it at all.
now believe me i dont like swimming back to the dock - and i hate the idea of that big ole mercury motor sinking down to davy jones locker. and since ive been owning boats for 10 years and my dad has always had them i can tell you that i would rather be safe than sorry - and trust me i have been sorry enough times. i think im going to drill a couple holes just to satify my curiosity, if i find good strong clear wood i will put on a stainless steel plate and seal the crack to prevent water damage just for piece of mind - if i find rotting wood - soft or wet wood then im going to cut the top of the transom off and dig it out - pour in seacast, seal it up then add a stainless plate anyway just to be sure. this boat origionally came with a lighter engine and the engine thats on it is a bit older - mercury black max 175hp. altho its rated for 175hp - im sure the origional 150 hp 2.x liter was much lighter than the heavier 3.0 liter and that is the root of the problem.
i really appreciate everyones advice. and dont think for a second that im just some weekend warrior who is bound a determine to run this boat till it sinks and taking chances with safety. but this boat it pretty solid and like i said its just to be used for a couple years - i will eventually upgrade to a different vessel the real reason i bought the bought was the motor which runs very strong and is enough to power a much bigger boat should i want to go that direction.
i found some mercury transom reinforcement plates for use with mercury high jacker brackets that im going to order. mercury recomends them whenever the high jacker plates are used with larger engines 150hp or bigger and i would have to say it is a modification that was developed because of this very problem.
even if i only get one summer out of it - which is for me probably 10 trips at the most - the boat is well worth the $500 i spent on it. we usually rent a small skiff for $100 a 1/2 day for our short fishing trips around the nuse river or ICW. sometimes we charter a boat for offshore, but 2 out of those 3 trips have been busts. i figured i could probably find a descent little boat for under 1000 this year and we could use it at our leisure - he only lives 2 miles from the boat ramp. and so far ive got 500 in it and im sure when its all said another 500 -- which is still less than i would spend on weekend fishing trips altogether and we get a boat at our disposal.
oh and if you are wondering how i got the boat for so little, or that it seems too good to be true so it probably is-- the impeller was bad - the guy knew it but he needed 500 for his flounder giggin rig which he didnt have, so maybe its a bit of right place right time, or if the ***** sinks maybe its wrong place wrong time.. im well aware that boat stand for BREAK OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND..
but it should be fun for at least a few trips - and after this year all the maintenance will be covered by my friend who will house and keep the boat.
essentially in bought a boat for half what i could rent one for, but i also bought all the troubles that go along with it, atleast for this year.