transom crack

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack




buy the way found out that wasn't a crack in the glass but the bolt is definitely pulling through

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack



Man i really hope to just have to replace the very rear transom where the motor sits.. what are everyones thoughts...i want to do it right but i dont want to f!#@ my boat up.. or miss the whole season

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: transom crack

follow Oops!'s guidance and you will be back on the water in a few weeks.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack



forgot one..not even a good one..Scott thanks for the encouragement.. i need it today

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

whats up every one.. just finished modifying a center walk-through windshield i found on ebay for super cheap ... it was a bit small and a little too square, so with some quick mods and swap out the glass for $10 plexiglass it fits perfect.. just one more step in reconditioning this baby looks factory i will get a pic... gonna be out there tomorrow putting in the hinge pins and making it official plus gonna start to clean up the inside of transom and bilge area(yuk,yuk) get ready to pull that motor..unhook all wires and fuel and steering.. i want to yank the motor but not sure if i can swing the 2bills the hoist is cost, this weekend...any one got an engine hoist in western ma willing to lend for an hour? lol we will see if i can contain my self and stay on my wifes good side

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: transom crack

hit your local rental store. hoists are like $10 per day.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

yea thanks for the idea bro.. i tried advanced auto they dont rent em only sell them.. home depot no rent...there is a local hardware chain that might rent them gonna check tomorrow and at local Tractor Supply. if i can find one to rent i will go that route.. chriscraft254 had mentioned a tow company i call multiple local places they wanted lowest 80 highest 120 (plus gotta figure x 2 to reinstall)...not worth it just buy one for that price...hopefully someone around here rents one...

got out there today and did some planing and cleaning.. boat is at wifes families house cause i cant keep it where i live..pain, not far though 10 min drive.

i know that its kind of useless to post here until i get the motor off, but hey what can i say....this is my obsession

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: transom crack

not tractor supply etc. think United Rentals, Grand Rentals, etc. the places that rent skid steers, pressure washers, etc.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok i will make some calls see what i can come up with thanks man...

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

getting into pulling this motor in next couple of days.. still doing a ton of research.. i am going to need some guidance for sure.. i think the stringers are rotted as well i can feel the top of one through the ski compartment where the carpet has peeled back just a bit... feels rotted.. what an f-ing nightmare. i dont think the deck is screwed on either.. how is the deck usually attached?

there is a large access panel to pull the gas tank which makes me feel safer... i can remove that before any real demo work begins..

but i have this feeling of despair in the pit of my gut, not good news.. does any one have a good rough estimate on what i will spend to do transom and stringers and knees and deck and all glass ....in parts? i cant affort this SH*%... man

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: transom crack

1K to $1,500 rough Guess-ti-mate!!!

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

Thanks Sir. That's about what i figured.. by the way your quote is very suiting to my particular situation...


still waiting to here what opps! thinks about the whole transom job... hope i didn't irritate him, maybe thinking i wasn't going to listen to pro advice...that's not the case at all.... although i do admit to being a slight know-it-all..from time to time:facepalm:

or maybe he is waiting to chime in after the motor is off


also chriscraft254
when you said it could be done from inside or outside the boat did you mean i could cut out the outer glass on the transom and rip the wood through that way?? .... and what does anyone else think about this method?

 

[oops!]

Re: transom crack

.. hope i didn't irritate him,

lol....no you didnt

or maybe he is waiting to chime in after the motor is off

yes,,,,,i was,

also chriscraft254
when you said it could be done from inside or outside the boat did you mean i could cut out the outer glass on the transom and rip the wood through that way?? .... and what does anyone else think about this method?

no....dont cut the outer skin off. alignment will be critical......especially with the drive pod. and you will loose several points of reference to the transom alignment.

you can cut the inner skin in that situation....the actual motor transom is not that big.....but a partial of full cap removal is best for that situation.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: transom crack

I'd listen to oops, he has way more experience on this than I.

But I would think you could cut the drive pod stern skin off with the rest of the rear sections of the transom, just exposing the wood inside the pod section and the upper transom sections to the right and left. leaving about a 2 inch reveal all around so you don't get out of sink with anything, then clean out old wood to inner skin and rebuild those areas..

Now that being said, if you look at the thousands of rebuild threads on many different sites, you will see, that in most cases, but not all, the rott goes beyond the transom peices. In other words a cap off or partial cap off will probably reveal more damage that needs to be addressed like stringers and such.

Its not always the case though, and being that I don't see other damage in the pod tub or forward of that area, you may just get lucky and have to just replace the transom. Unfortunately you just don't really know what your going to find until you open her up.

Sounds like your previous post about removing the tank is the right place to start, this will allow you to invetigate furthur on what you will need to do to get this thing restored. Unfortunately, a full restore may need to be done if everything is rotted. If the cap can be removed easily or without tearing it apart in the process, it may be the way to go. Cutting the deck is usually much easier though.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

i appreciate the help..i will get that motor off this week and take some more pics when off.. and we can see about the smartest plan of action..thanks so much again.. and i wish i wasnt such a nooob... but trust me i am doing as much research i can get away with before getting in trouble with wifey...(you know...is that all your gonna do ...ALL NIGHT)

but on a lighter note i am pulling everything together to get started.. found local rental for hoist $35 day...borrowing air compressor from buddy.. have 10x10 canopy to set up over rear of boat so im not interrupted by crappy weather...

and i actually am prepared to miss the season if need be ...i will not risk saftey ....

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok.. been gathering resources and funds and studying of course.. ready to go motor is coming off this weekend, no questions asked... i have told everyone in my life i am unavailable all weekend.... here is my plan, lets see what you think

1. motor off
2. cut out splashwell about half way up.. all the way around and around through the crack all the way to the other side to gain access to the drive pod inner skins.. sand back few inches on both sides of cut to reglass in the cut out when done.. this will open up the whole drive pod inner skins to cut out..



3. using cut off wheel cut transom inner skin off, and the inner skins off the drive pod partial stringers or knees not sue what they would be considered (see pic.. they are not attached to the stringers that run the length of the boat, but are connected and glassed to the flotation boxes)... remove all wood from transom and drive pod walls , hope the rest of the wood i run into is good ... and





4.you know the rest... grind ...grind..glass and more glass and filler and sand and gelcoat ( i will have many questions to figure out the answers to )

5. run the season and when i can save some more cash... do the rest from inside boat..(floor .. stringers and float boxes)

i know there has been suggestions of full cap removal.. but lack of help to lift and slide forward will make that impossible... unless there is a suggestion of how to do full cap removal by my self in driveway with no trees above me..

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok here we go ...got a bit going today


1. what it looked like with the rear seat box removed before gas tank removal, cant believe how many screws were holding the rear bench seat base to the deck.. right through the glass no sealer on holes, doesn't even look like they were pre-drilled holes.. like 18, 3" long stainless screws, and we wonder why our boats rot away.


2. gas tank was held down with what looked to be scrap pieces of pressure treated wood (who ever did this should not be allowed inside a boat with a screwdriver..hope to god it wasnt the factory). again 3" screws right into the stringers, no regard at all..


3. gas tank out.. starboard side rear of deck totally de-laminated.. but surprisingly the wood is not rotted.. just wet.. holes where spray foam was pumped in were filled with some gray stuff..looked like filler with chopped glass in it. you can see the bottom of stringers wet with couple spots where water is coming out.. with all these friggin screws its a wonder is not all mush



4.the bulkhead at bow side is a little mushy, and rear bulk head has 2 cut outs for wiring and fuel lines.. tops were not glassed or filled in any way...rotting also... you can also see some brown crap leaking in the knee joint (i guess) more rot im sure i will find behind there..



5.port side rear deck..solid and laminate still looks good except very small spots in center..



is there any hope to save the deck and stringers and do the bulkheads.. knees and transom..(perhaps cut back the stringers a few inches from the rear where the wood looks rotted viewing through the laminate.. tab into that??)

or just bite the bullet and gut it?... whole deck seems super solid..even where laminate peeled up...not sure what to do..of course most hard core guys are going to say....GUT IT!... but really seems like most wood is solid back here.

of course the issue is cash.. i wasn't prepared to drop 1k or more to do this now..

i know what your thinking...why isn't the freaking motor off yet? tomorrow morning bright and early..i already knew the transom was bad..wanted to see the rest..

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

motor off...



expected to find extreme de-lamination at the crack...found none to speak of at this stage...
also expected extreme rot at sunk in bolt hole.. didnt find that... but did find source of water in stringers...
i washed the transom and watched water weep into the stringers while the splashwell drained through drain tube...
drain tubes were for max 2-1/2" thick transom..mine 3 -1/2"... someone stuffed silicone in the splashwell drain tube hole and put these-too short tubes- into the holes and that was it..the tubes were 1" from snapping together (plastic push together type)..
prob same reason for rotted transom and any other rot i run into.. no sealer at all in drain tube holes.

also chriscraft254... i found the same boat model and year on ebay about a month ago and saved photos...looks like that one had exact same aluminum angle on transom.. not very thick at all...i could bend it with my hands...i know could just be coincidence as these are used to strengthen rotting transoms..but cant help but wonder if its a trim piece from factory that let even more water into transom via unsealed screw holes???

 

[oops!]

Re: transom crack

hi.....sorry it took me so long to get to this......i have been very very busy.

you say you did not find rot in the transom? and that the transom is basically good?

what about the stringers?...you mentioned that they were suspect.......have you done core samples?

the reason im asking this.....is because this is a really different set up.....that motor pod takes tremendous force.....if it aint strong....you will see cracks just like that ones you see now.

im kinda wondering if this is not an engineering flaw in the design.

can you get to the inside of the transom......where the motor pod is.....how is the pod attached to the rest of the back of the boat?

is there just a mini transom and then glass.....what is on the sides of the pod....are they just glass ... or is there a core in there?

in any event.....you will need to.

remove the inner skin of the transom glass......and inspect the wood core.
do your stringer wood cores....
take a foam core.
remove the carpet from the back where the deck meets the transom area... or the back of the boat.

the really good news is...... if this is cracking from a design flaw.....and the wood is not rot....and the rest of the stringers and foam are good......we can fix up the design with very minimal work and money.

but if the wood on the transom is rot......well....its not too expencive. if the stringers and foam are gone.......well..... id say a full cap off.

when you find out this stuff......pm me the link.

i really have my finger crossed......this may just be a quick fix.