Transom supports

[wobelydangely007]

Hello all,
I am new to boating and this is the first real boat I have bought. After checking everything out I noticed that the carpet was in better shape than I thought so decided to leave it in till this fall. I will replace carpet and any rotton wood I find. I also noticed that on the support on the left side of the gas tank (attached to transom and runs towards thefront of the boat) has a 4" crack down it and feels spongy in places. There is some good solid sounding wood where it meets the transom and some more on the otherside of the split. Is this something I colud run a piece of oak across to get me thru the summer??? I will take some photos and figure out how to get them on here if it would help. Thanks. I have been reading some of the threads and feel pretty good about trying some floor replacement this fall. With help from you guys that is.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Transom supports

Is this something I colud run a piece of oak across to get me thru the summer???

Ayuh,.... It Don't sound Good, but We can't see it...

Welcome Aboard....

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Ok, I think I have figured out how to upload pics. I'll try it and see.

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Right, pics seem to have worked. May I also add that the support wall in question feel quite hollow in the middle, but towards the ends it seems to firm up. I was thinking of waterproofing two pieces of plywood and bolting them on either side of the support wall to create a sandwhich and hopefully prevent any further splitting. Maybe even put a fibrglass patch over the cracked area to get me thru till fall.?????:

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom supports

What Kind of Boat?
How big of Motor?
How much Cargo/Pasenger Weight?
How deep is the Lake when/if the boat sinks??

I'm just sayin...

You are not giving much info. The MUSH could mean a lot. ROTTEN wood turns to mush and causes structural weakness. Depending on how critical this piece is to the overall structure of the boat then your "Patch" could be critical to safety. We really need more info and pics that give a better perspective of what we are dealing with.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Transom supports

Doesn't look good. A patch might work, then again it might not...don't think I'd risk it without seeing how that support ties into the transom and the hull.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Transom supports

What Kind of Boat?
How big of Motor?
How much Cargo/Pasenger Weight?

Ayuh,... Important Questions that need answers..

That could leave Whatever the Motor is, laying on the Bottom...
Your discription above, it sounds like the transom to stringer interface,+ it's already Broken...
Probably Rotten as well...
Even if you sister it, there's gotta be enough there to take the compression,+ tearing forces....
Drill some exploratory holes to find Good Wood...

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Aha, I guess the boat type may help. Sorry about that. The boat is a 1990 18' Shadow bass boat with a 150 mercury. It will be myself (170lb) the wife (115lb) and the two kids (70lbs each) The wifes wants to ski and tube this summer but I am trying to talk her into just fishing this summer and fixing the boat this fall. Or fix the boat now and get fussed at all summer. lol. This looks like a great site. I have already looked at a couple of boat rebuilds and it looks really interesting. Thanks for the info. Paul.

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

I removed gas tank and batteries to closer inspect the damage. The wood between the fibreglass is completely wet and pulpy. I have decided to go ahead and pop the top and see what the transom etc looks like. Anything I need to know about popping the top?? What exactly needs to be unhooked before the top comes off??

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Couple more pics.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom supports

Hey wobley,

Back off a ways, and let us get a larger perspective of the boat configuration.
To take off the top you will need to remove the rubber from the rub rail and then remove all the screws or rivets. ( Hundreds of em) The Cap may be glued or tabbed to the hull but most likely not. Give us a look a the whole boat and it will be easier for us to tell you more about the whole project.

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Okay, I have just finished removing everything I can see apart from the engine cables etc... I would like to get the top off to check out the transom but is there any reason that I cant just cut the tops off of these fibreglass knees and the other board that looks like a step in the gas compartment and fill them with that sea cast stuff then glass back over them??? Or would they have to be wood?? (BTW the knee supports on either side of the gas tank compartment only go back as far as the gas tank does. I forgot to take a photo of the other end but will in the a.m. and they are definately empty feeling)
It also looks as if someone has had this top off before and I ripped a couple of patches off from the battery compartment floors as they had glassed over the drain holes from the storage compartments and there was a thin layer of water between the layers.
I worked my way around the top with a putty knife and it appears that some places are real loose and other places seem to be holding in place. (ie... around the rear battery compartments and rod storage it seems like it has been glassed together a bit. Im hoping they just did this in areas that they could reach??? Thanks so much for your patience, but I am really new to this but am loveing it already. Thanks. Paul.

 

[Fisherball]

Re: Transom supports

What they are asking is for a photo of the whole boat, not just a close-up of part of it. No one can tell exactly what you have cuz we can't see it. Side, front, rear views & one from above showing the deck area would help.

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: Transom supports

What condition is your transom in? That determines on the type of fix you're looking at. If you haven't done so already, do a core test.

What thickness of wood was originally used? My guess is probably 3/4" thick but if I were you and could swing it, I'd glue (2) 1/2" pieces together to beef them up to 1".

To replace the knees, I would use new plywood. I don't know the properties of sea cast well enough to recommend it so I'd advice against it for this repair unless redoing the actual transom. Take off the outboard and cut out the old knees. If your careful, you might be able to use the old as a template. Once removed, grind/sand the area smooth and rebuild by coating the new wood with resin followed by a layer or two of glass. Glue the new piece in with some PL Premium (or peanut butter "PB" - do a search) then make a fillet (using PL or PB although PB is my recommendation) by filling and rounding the inside corners of all joints made. This will allow for your next layers of fiberglass to comform easier and you should be done. If your transom is bad, you want to replace it first.

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Bigred, I spent a couple of hours this morning going over your Checkmate thread. Nice job mate. Well done. If anyone can help out a newbie you would be as qualified as a pro. Id love to hear some of your do's and donts, anything you would have done differently regarding which materials and how much etc... And where to buy. Im guessing that my transom runs along the whole back end of the boat and that the extended pieces of the body on either side of the motor are hollow. I will be able to see more once I get this top off so that is what I will hopefully be doing today. Here are a few more pics to help you better help me. I will take more if I get the top off. Im still trying to figure out what else is holding it on. I think I may need a trip to Harbour Frieght for some air tools before it will finally come off completely.

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

One more.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom supports

Ok Much better perspective now. FIrst get that big ***** motor off the boat. Make a stand for it. Search this site for plans on how to make one. Then you can pull the cap off and get a look at the stringers and the transom. The transom is the entire back piece of the boat. My guess is that is is soaked and rotten. The weight of that big motor and the rotten transom has caused the crack in the transom supports. You have some work to do but it will be fun and when you are done you will have a stronger boat that will last for years. Keep the Pics coming and go buy some BEER!!!!

 

[wobelydangely007]

Re: Transom supports

Thats too funny. I cleaned up my beer bottles from last night before I took more pics. lol.

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: Transom supports

Bigred, I spent a couple of hours this morning going over your Checkmate thread. Nice job mate. Well done. If anyone can help out a newbie you would be as qualified as a pro. Id love to hear some of your do's and donts, anything you would have done differently regarding which materials and how much etc... And where to buy. Im guessing that my transom runs along the whole back end of the boat and that the extended pieces of the body on either side of the motor are hollow. I will be able to see more once I get this top off so that is what I will hopefully be doing today. Here are a few more pics to help you better help me. I will take more if I get the top off. Im still trying to figure out what else is holding it on. I think I may need a trip to Harbour Frieght for some air tools before it will finally come off completely.

I wouldn't consider myself a pro but rather another guy who loves working on my boat. I'll admit that there are some really sharp people on this board when it comes to boats.

I purchased my fiberglassing materials from US Composites or from Mertons. The biggest decision you'll need to make is whether to use epoxy or polyester resin. Each have their pros and cons so I would recommend a search for you to decide for yourself which strikes you best. That decision then will branch onto the type of technique you use and with what type of glass. That also makes a big difference in price so it's hard to give you a number. I think a 3 gallon epoxy kit ran around $125-$150 whereas a gallon of poly runs between $30-$50 (ballpark figures).

As far as the removal of the top, is it hanging up in the spashwell area? I was able to drill out all the rivets and take a putty knife to break the silicone seal on mine except in the spashwell area. Checkmate used a really hard bonding agent that was like concrete to seal the spashwell down to the hull. Unfortunately, I had to cut into the spashwell on mine to break it free but such is life. I hope that helps some.

 

[Ksmith0110]

Re: Transom supports

If you are going to Harbor Freight, this is the tool I got to fix my boat, and it was invaluable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWByeqID4S0&feature=player_embedded

My rebuild:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=390098&highlight=1973+winner

The tool worked great and I also picked up an air/hydraulic riveter.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-16-inch-air-hydraulic-riveter-93458.html

I bought 200 rivets and I have 17 left.

Good luck and look for any supports under the console. I had 1 under the dash (the side with the steering wheel) that was still bonded to the hull and as soon as I cut it loose from the hull it popped loose.