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Need advice on transom repair - with images.

vvulture

New member
Hey guys... i'm in desperate need of advice on how to proceed with my boat.

Long story short, i purchased my 1st boat and got screwed over big time... took the engine off the boat only to discover the transom completely rotted. :(

I took to it with my angle grinder and cut the transom open to reveal and remove all the rotted timber.

Anyway, i would really like to salvage the boat by installing a new transom, but need to know how best to proceed with it so it is structurally sound.
I don't care about aesthetics. I would be over the moon as long as it floats and is safe to use.

Please have a look at the photos and let me know what you think...

Thanks guys..

Photos ---> https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/139SoOQQQUAz5x3oXmQkMTvCPqOB108b2?usp=sharing
 
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I don't have a great amount of experience doing this. However, I had one project that turned out very well.

I used a product called Sea Cast: http://www.transomrepair.net/index.php?cPath=1

It's a mixture of resin and hardener that you combine with recycled chopped glass and you pour it in place of a wood core. What you would have to do is glass your exterior skin back in place and then make a new skin for the inside. On my boat the inside skin was shot so I got a 4X8 piece of 1/4" masonite and cut that as a form to match the shape of the skin. Then I covered the masonite with wax paper and laid up a layer of woven cloth and another layer of chop stranded cloth.

To install the inside skin you can rip pieces of 2X2 to the correct thickness, set them against the outer skin sticking out the top of the cap, then push the inner skin against those, and glass the inside to the sides, bottom and top deck. Once the resin sets up you can just pull the spacers out of the top. Be sure to let the resin on the outer and inner skins fully cure before you pour the transom.

Filling the transom was pretty easy. I made a 24" wide funnel that fit into the open cap space between the skins. To mix the resin I got a large drill mounted paint mixer and used a 1/2" drill. Once the SeaCast was uniformly mixed I poured it in to the top through the funnel and used rubber dead blow hammers to pound the transom while the resin was fluid to drive out any air pockets/bubbles. The transom will get REALLY HOT as the hardener and resin react with each other. No worries, just be aware it will be hot to the touch. After it all cures you can glass in to cover the SeaCAst then re-drill holes for your bilge, splashwell drain, and tie down hooks.

I can't really tell you how much easier or cost effective this was compared to rebuilding with marine grade plywood because this was my one and only time doing this. I do know that marine grade plywood was very expensive to get in my area so I decided if I had to special order supplies I might as well give it a whirl with the composite stuff.

I sold that boat about 7 years after doing that work. The transom was rock solid the day I sold it and most likely will outlast all the other components in the boat. That thing was so crazy strong you could probably use the boat as a barge tug. There may be more experienced folks to chime in about using wood cores, but my experience with SeaCast was excellent and if I ever had to rebuild another transom I'll use the stuff again.

KJ
 
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I took to it with my angle grinder and cut the transom open to reveal and remove all the rotted timber.

Ayuh,.... Yer certainly goin' 'bout it exactly opposite as most of Us do it,....

Generally, the inside of the hull is cut out for access, not the outside of the hull castin',....
 
should have done your research, BEFORE, you started cutting......
Exactly. Looks like the damage is done now. He definitely should have done the homework before cutting.

I suppose the OP could glass the exterior back onto the hull but that's going to be a tall order.

KJ
 
I suppose you can build a mold for pouring the transom in and then glass on both sides for strength. You definitely should have asked here first. What condition is the deck and stringers? Your best bet is to take the loss unless you can get the seller make it right.
 
I suppose you can build a mold for pouring the transom in and then glass on both sides for strength.
When I did the SeaCast on my old boat that's exactly what I did. Fortunately I had left the outer hull in tact, so I made a new inner skin then glassed it to the hull. That created the form I needed to pour in the transom core material.

I will say that SeaCast is some stupid strong stuff. If the OP can glass the outer hull back into place then pour the SeaCast my guess it will all bond together and hold quite well.

KJ
 
I did my Mako 261 which holds twin honda 200s with Nida pour. Much like seacast, but is a pourable ceramic compound that will never rot. I did lots of research on this and the way to do it is to cut out the outer skin and leave a 3-4 edge on the perimeter. Im not sure if this one is repairable since both inner and outer are gone.
 
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