Transom Question

[Banks10]

As I am educating myself about boat restoration, it seems that the transom is a place that requires repairs quite often and that it is not a very easy fix.
I'm not 100% sure why this is, but I would imagine that it is because it is where the motor sits and thus takes a lot of pressure from the thrust of the motor.

Anyhow, when looking for a boat to restore, what are things to look for in the transom. I know how to look for the obvious problems (cracks, rot etc.) but how can I find hidden problems?

 

[109jb]

Re: Transom Question

To check the transom on an aluminum boat you just have to look at it and probe it with an ice pick. Also look at the back of the boat to see if it is straight. Also look to see if it has separated from the splashwell. You can gain access to the transom under the splashwell. Replacing a transom in an aluminum boat isn't that tough, just takes a little time.

For a fiberglass boat, the only real way to tell is to drill holes in various locations to see if the wood shavings come out rotten or wet. I doubt anyone is going to let you drill holes in their boat. You can tell on a really rotten boat the telltale cracks in the gelcoat, and excessive crushing of the wood where the motor bolts on, but the wood could be on its way to rotten and still be pretty solid. My Sea Ray was this way. The top 1/2 was solid, and going down the wood was wet and then farther down was rotten. The boat still handled the 115 HP outboard fine and had no cracks in the gellcoat at the stern. More of a crap shoot with fiberglass. Replacing is also much more involved since the transom is essentiall made to be an integral part of the hull on a fiberglass boat.

Hope this helps.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Transom Question

It's actually pretty simple. The transom is typically a 2-3" piece of plywood that reinforces the rear of the boat. What makes it difficult is that when the boats were built this wood is typically installed before before the whole top of the boat was put on. On a fiberglass boat the best way to access it is to separate the whole top cap of the boat. Then you would grind out all the old wood and glass a new piece in. On an aluminum boat you can often times just remove some trim pieces and slide out the old transom board and slide in a new one. On many boats this wood is visible from inside of the boat (back of the engine compartment, under the splash well, etc) and you can check it for rot that was. On my boat it was clearly visible and clearly rotted to heck.

 

[oops!]

Re: Transom Question

I'm not 100% sure why this is, but I would imagine that it is because it is where the motor sits and thus takes a lot of pressure from the thrust of the motor.

99% of all transom damage is rot..........again....99% of all rot is caused by not protecting the wood from water intrusion.

any screw holes or thru hull items that are added MUST be correctly sealed or the transom will rot