transom cap (bang plate)

Well I finally procrastinated long enough and went ahead with the transom cap (bang plate) replacement. First made up a lifting eye $30 not $200 through the dealer. Was going to rent a chain host but two days rental was the price of buying one, so purchased a 1/2 ton hoist. Laid a 9' post with chain attached across the attic truss floor spanning 4 trusses for strength then drilled a 2" hole in the sub floor and dropped the chain through the ceiling to accept my hoist. Had difficulty getting a 1 1/2" ss angle so had to go with thicker ss than I wanted. Resulted in putting starboard shims to bring the engine mounts even with the transom cap. Just pulled the outboard far enough back to access the cap, so did not have to undo controls wiring etc. It all went well, after getting over the nervous tension of making sure the chain and post were going to hold the weight. I used sikaflex 291 quick cure for bedding the ss cap and sealing the open transom top after removing the old cap and cleaning up very much salt deposit. Apart from a little moisture under the cap which dried up quickly with a heater on it, the transom appears to be very sold. I think leaving it much longer would result in transom moisture issues. I use almond colour silicon to seal all the plastic cover pieces on the edges of the splash well above the transom cap. I was going to use the GW new plastic bang plate but heard stories of the plastic caps used on other make of boats having issues with warping and cracking after years in the sun. Not that I have that many left.... Anyway I hope the pics tell the story maybe better than I did. Cheers trapper

Thanks guys, I enjoyed the process! Yes Dennis I knew the weight of the F200 but I think that fact that the outboard looks so huge hanging on a hoist that I was hesitant to pull it off the transom. Once off I did realize it was going nowhere and I actually shoved it around a bit when in my way. That was my first "hanging" now it appears to be a cake walk, may do it again for fun???? I did not polk any holes in the transom, sounded very solid with the hammer approach. I may have to do a little homework on transom rebuilding to pursue it any further. Not sure at what point one should consider this, but at the moment there is no sign of weakness or rot. My next enjoyable process is installing a "Intellisteer type H" remote steering system on the F 200. Like to get out from behind the wheel when fishing and cruising. Cheers, trapper

ric, yes third hole, almost went to the 4th when I had the motor off, but since all seems good at the 3rd I left it there. Also I'm packing a yam kicker, a little over 100 pounds so it sits a little lower at rest. Went from a Reliance 17 p,to a 15p and that works for me with approx. 5800 WOT and good acceleration to plane. I trim up the the fourth bar when running on fairly flat water. I think you could raise it 1 maybe 2 holes. Hope that helps Cheers, trapper

ric, I will measure the bolts and get back to you. I used the holes in the flywheel and remember it took a little trial and error to match them up, quite q fine thread.
Matt, that is just thin starboard to match the bang plate thickness , then the engine mount was isolated from the plate with sikaflex 291 Cheers, trapper

Matt, Because of the thickness of the bang plate, I just wanted a snugger fit between transom and engine mount. Eliminated a large tapered gap from the bottom of the engine mount to the top at the g plate. Just felt it was to big to fill with sikaflex and would give it more of a solid flat attachment. Hope that makes some sense. Good luck, trapper. p.s. I did use sikaflex to keep the dissimilar metals apart.

ric, why did you have to remove three bolts? Were not there three holes already in the flywheel to attach a lifting eye? Cheers trapper

Finatic, Don't know if I can be much help, as I took my sweet time with this work. The stainless angle (bang plate) was $50 although a little too heavy duty. Not much choice at the time, but it worked fine with the starboard shims. I would guess for a marina with all the equipment, a few hours work. Removing the old aluminium b plate cleaning up the old sealant was time consuming, then applying the new sealant (sikaflex) around the transom top and waiting for it to dry before putting on the b plate. Removing the outboard and replacing it was not a problem. Thats why I went to a chain hoist rather than use my come-a- along, as the degrees (distance) of raising and lowering are much more accurate than using the notches on the come along. Yes the distance changes on the removal of 500 lbs. Personally I think I would negotiate a deal with the repair in mind and then bring it home and do it yourself. It will help you find out much more about the boat you bought and make it a little more yours. Enjoy the process! Good luck, trapper