wet wood in transom

[hoss62773]

while relocating my sonar transducer, i drilled out some wet wood in the transom.

history:
1964 redfish by IMP (iola molded plastics).
replaced wood flooring at the stern and reglassed over the rest of the original floor.
the transom had separated on the starbord side of the hull due to ice expansion. (previous owner left it outdoors for who knows how many years). this was repaired using west system epoxy, glass coth, and coated with gelcoat.

there are alot of cracks on the skin inside the boat.

I've removed some original hardware (ancient transducer, speedometer pitot, wire fasteners, etc) and most or these screws were rusted out completely.

all the holes have been filled with west system epoxy and high density filler and will later be sanded and faired out.

i wanted to see what i was up against before attempting this kind of project.

so the one thing i can think of is that when i had the flooring removed, i didn't reseal the transom from the inside. so now any water that gets under the floor is soaking into the plywood.


is there a way to get this plywood dried out so i can open it up and seal the inside? is the transom destined for replacement?

 

[Always Broke]

Re: wet wood in transom

From my personal experiences every time I found wet wood it was rotten too. How long has it been getting wet? If it just happened you might have a chance of saving it. Your going to have to expose it anyhow to dry it out and seal it so it won’t rot if it didn’t already. Start poking around with a screwdriver where the wood was/is wet and see how soft it is. If it’s rotten don’t take chances just fix it right and get it over with. There’s no feeling like thinking your motor stalled then turning around to see what happened you find out it’s gone. I got fooled on an aluminum boat I bought, the wood was exposed inside the boat and was solid, then like you when I started repairing the fixtures on the outside of the transom I found a lot of wet wood. The plywood was in two pieces sandwiched together and the one up against the outside of the boat was rotted because of drilled holes and rusted screws that were never taken care of. Good Luck

 

[bosavy]

Re: wet wood in transom

i agree with broke. i had a 965 mfg that was severly rotted if it;s rotted down at the bottom it might be rotted threw.I t was a big job but at least you know it's right.

 

[hoss62773]

Re: wet wood in transom

that's what i was affraid of. i just got it in the water this year after working ont it for 2 years. I know it was dry because it was exposed and i checked it.

I have no clue as to where to begin on this. glassing isn't a problem anymore, i can do it in my sleep now. its the transom structure i need help with. i saw the post on using seacast, but how do you remove all that wood withoug breaking into the fiberglass. also, in my repairs i used epoxy resin and seacast website says it is incompatible with epoxy. I just repaired an 8" gap with the epoxy and glass cloth , and filled the holes using a filler. that stuff's not cheap. wood would be more affordable, but more work.

any help would be appreciated.

thnx

 

[sport15]

Re: wet wood in transom

Lots of posts on replacing transoms.. To save the gel coat and outer skin, you can set a skill saw on a VERY shallow cut and cut a few inches away from the sides and bottom with the intention that this will be a tab to glass to when the new core goes back in. Once this is peeled off the ply, you will be able to see what is rotten. All rot comes out until good wood is reached. If there is anything left of the original core you can step that with a router set up on a homemade jig to create smooth landings or faying surfaces (depending on where you’re from). The new core does not have to go in one piece, just try not to have joints to close or at high load points. Cloth between core layers adds strength and if you thicken the epoxy just a tough it will not all pool in the bottom of the lay up. Screw and glue the skin you peeled off back on, feather, fair, fill and paint.

Dave

 

[bosavy]

Re: wet wood in transom

what i did was took the motor off and got a dril with 1/2inch plumbers drill. I left the skin intact on both sides. Then i drilled every inch or so as far as i could. Then i i got a electric chain saw and cut into the wood very carefully.Then i dug all the rotted wood out [get a good vacum] then used new plywood and west marine expoxy and sandwhiched everything toghether gl