Ranger Danger
Seaman
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 74
So, after weeks of troubleshooting my 1978 Del Magic Cougar runabout with a 1978 Evinrude 115 outboard, I get the engine running like a champ. LOTS of help from this forum, everybody was GREAT and I could never have done it alone.
So we're out having a good time on the Lake of the Arbuckles, and another boat comes flying out of a no wake zone immediately in front of me. I cut it to the right and try to slow down, but I hit his wake pretty hard at near WOT. Like almost flying into the air hard. I had a very small, superficial crack in the splash well area near the outboard, so I've been watching very closely for signs of a weak transom. We pull into a swimming area and hop out to swim.
I look at the back of the boat and notice two small cracks in the fiberglass, each about 5 inches long and on either side of the outboard. They are well above the water line, and aren't gapped open or anything. When we left I ease her back up on plane, and head back for the boat dock. I marked the cracks and they didn't spread any on the way back or on the trailer ride home.
To make matters worse, I ran out of gas about a mile from dock. With no other boats around.... And my wife and I had to paddle back.
Needless to say, she's about had it with the boat. My question is, should the transom be ok, if the cracks don't spread any? Or am I looking at a transom rebuild.
If it's a rebuild, then I'm just going to look for another hull. My hull needs repainted and I'd just as soon skip all that.
So we're out having a good time on the Lake of the Arbuckles, and another boat comes flying out of a no wake zone immediately in front of me. I cut it to the right and try to slow down, but I hit his wake pretty hard at near WOT. Like almost flying into the air hard. I had a very small, superficial crack in the splash well area near the outboard, so I've been watching very closely for signs of a weak transom. We pull into a swimming area and hop out to swim.
I look at the back of the boat and notice two small cracks in the fiberglass, each about 5 inches long and on either side of the outboard. They are well above the water line, and aren't gapped open or anything. When we left I ease her back up on plane, and head back for the boat dock. I marked the cracks and they didn't spread any on the way back or on the trailer ride home.
To make matters worse, I ran out of gas about a mile from dock. With no other boats around.... And my wife and I had to paddle back.
Needless to say, she's about had it with the boat. My question is, should the transom be ok, if the cracks don't spread any? Or am I looking at a transom rebuild.
If it's a rebuild, then I'm just going to look for another hull. My hull needs repainted and I'd just as soon skip all that.