splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

[bobbo268]

So i have a newly aquired 88 thundercraft and the drain on the splashwell is maybe an inch or more from the lowest point. This means everytime i get home, i have to throw old rags in the splashwell to soak up all the water so it doesn't cause more transom rot than there already is from soaking into the transom from the metal ring placed around the drain. Can i just make another hole lower or is it this way for a reason?

Also, i drilled a hole about 8 inches or so from the top of the transom to put a wire holder for a fishfinder, and black gunk came pouring out. When I drilled for the transducer at the bottom, and another wire holder between the transducer and top holder, there was nothing that came out. Should i even worry about transom rot at this point? Its an 88 and will be stored indoors and covered while I own it. I found this site: http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLrotrepair.html which it seems you just hack away the rotting top part, fill it will their resin and it hardens the good part thats left and forms the part you hacked away to form a solid transom. Its a lot of work but I'm guessing I shouldn't mess with it since its not all the way rotten, right?

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

Also, i drilled a hole about 8 inches or so from the top of the transom to put a wire holder for a fishfinder, and black gunk came pouring out. When I drilled for the transducer at the bottom, and another wire holder between the transducer and top holder, there was nothing that came out. Should i even worry about transom rot at this point?

You should inspect the transom for soundness. Black gunk pouring out is not a good sign .. sorry.

As far as the drain .. seal it back up or replace to whatever level you like.

Got pics ?

YD.

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

i will get pics on sunday. How does someone check for soundness without drilling a million holes? I can only imagine that most boats 20+ years old have the same transom problems without replacing.... i say most, not all.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

Now that you've acquired it & have decided to keep it indoors & covered, will protect anything you do from here forward, but doesn't account for the care & maintenance the previous owner (PO) did or didn't do.

You can remove additional thru hull fittings & etc and attempt to assess the transom thru those rather small holes. Probe them with a nail or an awl. But I wouldn't, based on black gunk pouring (as in a semi-liquid state?) out of a small hole for a transducer wire holder, is not a good sign (as Yacht Dr mentioned) no matter what the other holes indicate.

Black gunk isn't normal, good, or safe, IMHO.

I'd suggest that you need to drill multiple holes, in multiple locations w/ a 1/4" drill bit. Wrap some masking tape around the bit as a depth gauge, roughly 1" from the tip of the bit.

Test drill holes vertically & horizontally in the transom from the inside, do not drill thru the hull. If the shavings come out dark & damp, you have to address the transom much sooner then later. Dry light color shavings indicate a none fully involved transom and the need to respond is slightly less urgent. But since you've already gotten black & funky out 1 hole up relatively high on the transom, possibly even above the water line in normal use of the boat, it is probably worse then you'd expect.

Again, as YD asked, pix?

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

i don't have any pics of the gunk, as the holes are sealed now, but the gunk was from upper holes, not the lower holes. The last owner said he has had it in his garage for the past 10 years, but before that he's not sure. I would guess that if the upper transom is worse than the lower, its from the water getting into the splashwell hole around the metal seal, or the plate that goes across the top.... pics in a few mins, going to get them now

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

i don't have any pics of the gunk, as the holes are sealed now, but the gunk was from upper holes, not the lower holes. The last owner said he has had it in his garage for the past 10 years, but before that he's not sure.

Not to disagree w/ the guy you bought it from, but I don't think this started prior to his 10yrs of garage storage....

I agree w/ YD's assessment: The black gunk isn't a good sign. I'd definitely suggest the test drilling as I outlined above. But no matter what results you find, the only, best way to resolve it is to remove the transom plywood completely & redo it. Any other fix is temporary at best.

In an area that has little to no air flow, now that it's gotten wet and shows evidence of rot (the black gunk), it will continue to rot. It is no longer an if proposition. It's a when. IMHO

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

I guess this would be an off-season project. So, with the removable top piece above the transom, it should be as easy as taking off the motor and taking off that piece, removing any screws into it, and then the transom should slide right out....... haha, i'm sure thats not the case.

I mentioned http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLrotrepair.html

This website says you just open the top, dig out the rotted piece from the top, cut a good piece that fits decently, and then fill it with their resin that soaks into all the wood and fills in the gaps of the old good wood and the new wood piece you just put in.....

fill me in....

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

No one has really been a fan of the rot doctor methods and I know I am not. Those methods fall into a band-aid approach and always sounds so easy because they are selling a product!

MANY people have removed their transom wood to find places where ants have nested DEEP into the wood in places you would never think of "injecting" the rot doctor method. Water that infiltrates the wood could follow paths deep into the transom and create pockets of rot under the fiberglass. If you desire to follow that method (rot doctor) and just remove the rot and fill (it is only what you can see) I will tell you that the people who have been there (with transom repairs) will be sitting at their keyboards shaking their heads, mumbling and maybe even letting out an audible hiss-boo.

Any repair is ultimately your choice limited by your budget. Are there cheaper methods or repair? yes. Will they be as strong or last as long as a correct repair? - maybe in the early stages. Your choice.

Here are some examples:
Plywood Marine vs cheaper exterior - works
Fiberglass Poly resin vs epoxy - works epoxy is stronger/overkill but longevity is the same
Sealing a deck - Coating the deck with fiberglass vs varnish or oil base paint - oil base paint or varnish under a deck will not last as long at all.
Exterior finish - gel coat vs cheap paint - gel coal far superior but cost more
Paints - Marine vs cheap both will work but the marine paint will outlast/perform better
Fasteners Stainless steel vs regular - both work but regular will rust away in time
The list can be very long........

Bottom line........... ask and give people a hint of your budget. People will guide you based on that.

90% of the boats in the water were built using the cheapest and safest methods without longevity in mind and we are paying the price later. LOL there are boats here being rebuilt that were originally built in the mid 90's which was not 20 years ago but all of the damages and rot can be directly related to previous care (or lack of).

Just FYI - It is common that the drainholes in the spashwell are mounted high so the flange will mount without trimming one side. The only way those higher holes would have caused rot is if the plastic and the flange were leaking into the wood. The fiberglass splashwell itself will hold water forever.......... when the drains were installed they probably did not seal the drilled hole adequately or the sealant failed.

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

as far as my budget, its not that large. And this is a thundercraft, which after reading on this site, it appears thundercraft was the cheapest boats ever made so if thats the case, i'd like to spend as little as possible. Although i've replaced the seats, boxes, and carpet, and added a minn kota and new bimini (there went my budget )My brother said don't mess with it at all because he's the type to not fix it until its useless. So if I was going to replace the transom wood, how much work and cost would this entail.... roughly....

is it as easy as removing the cover over the transom, sliding the wood out and replacing it once the motor and all accessory screws are out? (im guessing not but its fun to wish)

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

Is it as easy as removing the cover over the transom, sliding the wood out and replacing it once the motor and all accessory screws are out? (im guessing not but its fun to wish)

No where near that easy. And most boats have wood contacting other wood, from under deck stringers, to the deck & back to the transom. So even though the deck seems sound, it may not be, sort of the same way your transom appears to be more solid then it truly is... And doing any 1 of those is a lot of work, and not inexpensive. But a good bit of that work would be for nothing if you don't also do the other 2. Esp down the river a couple years. You'd need to demo the 'new' work to reach whatever is now going soft. And the 'new' work would be at risk to be damaged as the soft & rotten migrates once again.

I recently cut up a derelict hull that was the 'must take also' boat w/ a boat & trailer deal. Although the bow rides high, and water would tend to migrate back to the bilge, the flotation foam through out the raised platform supporting the bow seats & boxes, was occupied by more ants then I've ever seen. And from the outside, it looked fairly decent.. I almost set the whole thing ablaze instead of continuing to to cut it up & haul it to the dump. It was a lot of ants... crazy like an Indiana Jones movie:facepalm:

It was very neglected, and although your's may not be in as bad of overall shape, that ^^^ was more of a 'you just never know until you cut into it & start the demo' example...

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

I agree with inspection of the transom ..

Its not uncommon for inspections to take place for DIY'ers here.

Do what jbcurt suggested with the 1/4" drill core samples and be honest. Yes .. every time you pull that bit out with black goodie wetness sinks your heart. However its better to KNOW now then when you start crackin glass.

It could be fine for the season .. or it might not. Whos to say aside from your best judgement ( If you dont want to take it to a shop for inspection ).

Do the inspection .

YD.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

if you think its rotten from the top down pull out one of the top motor mount bolts and take a look. if you think about it 2 of the 4 motor bolts are at the top of the transom which is proberly not a good place to have a soft transom. other clues are the boat pulls to the right when on plane, the bottom motor bolts are loose, etc.
most of use have been in your position and we all hope that its a small spot in the transom but on a 20 year old wood transom thats like winning the lottery when you have already seen the black sludge.

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

I'm starting to think that this isn't something I would even be able to do myself. If the transom goes all the way across the back, i'd have to cut the whole thing open, and the value of the boat probably isn't even worth to do it.... but with the theories above, i can't see everyone who buys a 20 year old boat fixes the transom. Its seems a lot a lot a lot of boats are stored outside, always on the water, and/or other places where water and high humidity would reap havok on a transom.

and here's an idea (forgive the stupidity, just throwin ideas out there...) why not put some diamond plate steel the shape of the rear of the boat on the outside and inside and then mount the motor over that.... would that not accomplish the same thing, only it would be an exterior transom instead of an interior?

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

dont panic yet. firstly see how bad the transom is but more important is to see how the stringers look. there are options for fixing a transom like pourable that will give you a transom thats rot proof.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

dont panic yet. firstly see how bad the transom is but EQUALLY important is to see how the stringers look. there are options for fixing a transom like pourable that will give you a transom thats rot proof.

Slight modification to your text.

Else, GPofP, the pourable you're referring to might sound similar to the CPES rotdoc stuff bob asked about originally, but it is a very different product. And that decision is down the road for bob at this point. Plus that pour in product is expensive.

Bob needs to decide to proceed w/ inspection & repair of all suspect or impacted materials, 1st. The how can be for after. IMHO

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

I'm starting to think that this isn't something I would even be able to do myself. If the transom goes all the way across the back, i'd have to cut the whole thing open, and the value of the boat probably isn't even worth to do it.... but with the theories above, i can't see everyone who buys a 20 year old boat fixes the transom. Its seems a lot a lot a lot of boats are stored outside, always on the water, and/or other places where water and high humidity would wreak havok on a transom.

and here's an idea (forgive the stupidity, just throwin ideas out there...) why not put some diamond plate steel the shape of the rear of the boat on the outside and inside and then mount the motor over that.... would that not accomplish the same thing, only it would be an exterior transom instead of an interior?

No stupid questions....
I'd compare using an exterior plate to welding a steel plate where your truck's engine mount connects to the frame w/out addressing the existing rust and hole in the frame. The new will only be as good & strong as the underlying rusted metal. The rust will continue. If your treat the steel to stabilize it, with out then opening the frame & throughly inspecting it, you aren't able to confirm that an applied product like POR15 has converted & encapsulated all of the damaged steel &/or rust. In an area that is subjected to significant, frequent, & heavy torque & weight, it makes it even more imperative to examine, inspect & repair damaged & suspect materials.

In the above truck example, it the motor mount &/or frame fail at that location, it may occur slowly over time, or all at once. When that occurs your truck's cab will surround you, you may be wearing a seat belt, possibly an air bag will deploy to further protect you, the truck has brakes and most importantly, you aren't surrounded on 5 sides by water.

When that occurs, it probably won't take a chunk of the frame and all of the engine with it and disappear into the asphalt like an outboard motor could take a substantial portion of your transom as it sinks....

Boats are like a lot of stuff, as it ages w/ various rates of maintenance, they fatigue, have problems and decay at various rates. Then there are just some that although the same age, model & construction, they aren't quite built as well as the rest.

Hope this ^^^ helps....

 

[bobbo268]

Re: splashwell drain too high? transom rot?

well i've done some vid watching and reading, and while i guess transom replacement isn't hard, it is though time consuming. Regarding the stringers, how would i even check those? I just re-did the entire carpet over the fiberglassed wood floor and that was all (at least from the top) solid, and that floor goes all the way back and butts up to the fiberglassed interior of the transom... more holes to drill?