It was a busy night - transom repair

[ezmobee]

I'm exhausted. I just removed the motor and the rotted outer transom from my boat. I had to rig up a bunch of ropes to lift off the 260+ pound outboard. Don't know how I didn't kill myself or the motor. Anyway, my transom has been in pretty bad shape since I got the boat but the previous owner had sured it up by rebolting the motor through a piece of angle iron that runs the entire width of the boat. This was sturdy as heck so no worries there but the problem was I was taking on a good bit of water. And I mean a GOOD BIT. I could run the bilge pump like every hour. If ever left in overnight I'm sure my boat would have sunk. Water was getting in around all the bolt holes through the rotted wood.

Now there isn't much I can do to replace the wood on the inside of the boat because I'd have to somehow dismantle the whole outboard well which is in front of it (maybe someday) but I can replace the outside piece at least. I'm going to go to Lowe's tomorrow and pick up a sheet and continue on. I'm looking forward to a much dryer boat this summer, one that could be left in the water overnight and not be on the bottom of the river come morning 8)

 

[sdunt]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

I don't know if this will help your leaks, but this will help once you replace the transom, and its not as bad as many people think..

Where many transoms fail is all of the bolt and screw holes in them that allow water in and past any epoxy seal.. One Idea I picked up is to use tubing to seal the holes. My appologies to the original poster that I copied this off of:
"go to good ACE/TRUE VALUE hardware or hobby shop that sells K & S tubing..

buy a piece of tubing with an ID size that is two to three sizes bigger than your bolts.. but is still a common drill bit size on the OD..

bore holes thru the transom and install the tube all the way thru the transom, coat the outside of the tube with epoxy before you install the tube, you want to cement it in place and seal it and the wood you just punched a hole in.

As you install the bolts, shoot caulk/silcone in the tube in between the bolt and the tube to water seal 'the hole in the boat'

the tube isolates/seals/protects from water infusion and isolates it from EVER soakin' into the side walls of your new transom. Kind of like making a drain plug hole but for the motor mounts or any other holes in the transom."

 

[ezmobee]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

That's a good suggestion. Thanks!

 

[OhioLowell]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

If it were me. I would drill the transom bolt holes before the transom goes back on. (if that's possiable) Then I'd coat the inside of the holes with some thinned resin or epoxy really good. This will seal up the bare wood inside the holes not allowing the water to infiltrate the new transom.

GOT PICTURES?


Good luck & keep us posted!
Lowell

 

[andy6374]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

Or, when you go to mount the motor...drill oversized holes and fill with thickened resin. Then drill the proper sized hole. If any water gets in, it won't be hitting any wood.

The same can be said for the bilge drain tube.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: It was a busy night (again) - transom repair (Pics added)

Re: It was a busy night (again) - transom repair (Pics added)

Again it was a busy night. Not as busy as last though. I think I spent longer driving out to Lowes than I did working on the boat. Having to wait till various thngs cure will make this a couple day-er. It's ok because I'm waiting for my new steering system to arrive anyway. As requested by OhioLowel, check out my Photobucket album of the work.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/Transom Repair/

 

[burroak]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

What you are replacing is nothing more that a spacer and a chafing board. That is not where the structural strength of the transom is. The board to which the angle iron is attached is the backbone of the transom. That is the piece to be concerned with. It is not a difficult thing to replace; and it should be replaced. That angle iron was put in there for good reason and it is not OEM.

 

[burroak]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

I reread your posts and you said that there was no way that the transom is coming out. I suspect there are 2 ways (1. while you are under power and the furthest from the ramps
[Murphy's Law], and 2. you do it now since the part to be replaced is fairly accessible.

If it's the difficulty of the task, don't fret. Remove the transom end caps; carefully ease out the spiral nails holding the aluminum strip atop the transom. Remove the bolt along each side of the transom, unscrew the splash well, and lastly take out the screws along the channel that the transom sits in. Then just lift out that rotten piece of c#@p. You will be mortified as to how bad it is. Oops! I forgot about that angle iron; it has to go also.

Use the old transom as a pattern for cutting out the new one from new material(many different suggestions as to what to use-choose you poison on that one) What ever you decide on will be light-years ahead of what you have.

3 suggestions before reinstalling the transom. 1. Drill drain holes in the bottom of the horizontal channel that receives the transom; 2. seal the transom with resin, especially the bottom and the top edges, and 3. Apply a aluminum flat coil stock to the inside of the transom with contact glue - the exposed transom on the water well side is where most of the rot starts. It is a natural catch basin. With the aluminum skin mating up with the bottom and sides of the splash well, apply seam sealer(it's an automotive water seal and can be painted.)

 

[ezmobee]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

Burroak, your reasoning is sound, and your instructions are crystal but DAMN that's going to be a lot of work. I'll check into it tonight when I get home to see how feasible all that is. The problem (or lack thereof) is that I have NO transom flex now. It's seemingly very solid. One issue is that everything is riveted and I do not have the tools to redo those after I removed them. Your info is dead on though. As if you were standing in my garage. You aren't are you? :$ Can I email you directly if I have any questions?

 

[burroak]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

ezmobee,

Anytime time you come near a rivet, take your hands away and step back from the boat. Do not remove any rivets from transom. It is not necessary to do that. It is all screw extraction and unbolting. You will need an extra set of hands to undo nuts while a Phillips head screwdriver holds the vertical bolts along the outer edge of the transom. If you read other threads here there are many approaches to the actual materials to use to make up the transom blank. I used a plywood lambeam from Menard's bargain bin. It is structurally stronger than anything else. The 1 1/2" thickness fit perfectly without laying up 3/4" pieces and gluing (all of which is problematic) and it accepted resin well.

PM me with your e-mail addy and I can send you mine. I'll be glad to answer any questions along the way.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

It said I couldn't PM you specifically. Is that something you have to have al enabled in your account?

 

[burroak]

Re: It was a busy night - transom repair

I went in and checked the appropriate box. PM should work now.