Transom Issues

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garyvoss

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it appears that the transom on my Marlin 300 has swollen significantly.

When I removed the aluminium top strip, water oozed out of the transom at the top - you can see the moisture in one of the starboard photos below.

Anybody got any ideas what the issue might be and what I should do about it? Please try not to be too scary!
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I love my Grady White and do not fancy the transom falling off when I am miles offshore!
 
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Issue is the bad design from the factory. I’m not an expert, but I did have my Marlin transom done. You’ll need to pull the boat, pull the motors and address it. Unfortunately. What year?
 
I could, and probably am wrong, but the second and fourth picture almost look like someone has done some work to it before and cut out a section of the transom already? At least imo, it doesn't look very level or even at all?
 
That aluminum strip is referred to as the bang cap. Do a search here for “bang cap “, it is one of Grady‘s worst, and longest lasting failures, especially for second and third owners.
 
You need to do two things:
Find a good fiberglass shop.
Get ready for shock when you get an estimate for rebuild.
 
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MA208 said:
Issue is the bad design from the factory. I’m not an expert, but I did have my Marlin transom done. You’ll need to pull the boat, pull the motors and address it. Unfortunately. What year?
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The boat is a 2009 build. Do you have any pictures of your transom repair?
 

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These pictures from a 1998 Islander didn’t look bad until they opened it. Up and it was a mess.I had it repaired at a cost around$7K if your goingtokeepboat it’s worth it .
 
Griffin5 said:
These pictures from a 1998 Islander didn’t look bad until they opened it. Up and it was a mess.I had it repaired at a cost around$7K if your goingtokeepboat it’s worth it .
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Thanks for the pictures. That is pretty scary!
 
Here are some pics from a 94 272. Had it done last summer after repowering brought out the damage. Transom was gutted and replace with Coosa board. Total damage was $10K which included engine removal and rehanging.
 

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I believe Grady White should change the design of the Marlin and make it a full transom and add a bracket. The Albermarle 30 express has a bracket and full transom.
 
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Griffin5 said:
These pictures from a 1998 Islander didn’t look bad until they opened it. Up and it was a mess.I had it repaired at a cost around$7K if your going to keepboat it’s worth it.
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I have something going on with the starboard corner of my Islander. The transom itself looks fine. There is a 10" crack under the rub rail with some black staining. The bang cap is somewhat intact. Middle section looks good.

Transom 1.jpeg
 
Hookup1 said:
I have something going on with the starboard corner of my Islander. The transom itself looks fine. There is a 10" crack under the rub rail with some black staining. The bang cap is somewhat intact. Middle section looks good.

View attachment 26116
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That would be considered a catastrophic transom failure. It will only get worse...

Approximately 10 boat bux. (10 grand)...
 
If I am seeing this correctly, that is part of the transom and it looks quite bad. The question is how far the damage extends. It may be local to that area. I would guess that an impact or impacts to the rub rail caused a crack to open up and over time water continued to seep in. Obviously the crack was caulked previously.
 
seasick said:
If I am seeing this correctly, that is part of the transom and it looks quite bad. The question is how far the damage extends. It may be local to that area. I would guess that an impact or impacts to the rub rail caused a crack to open up and over time water continued to seep in. Obviously the crack was caulked previously.
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Is the question how far the damage extends or is the question how far offshore would you trust that vessel?

You could stuff the crack full of 5200 and stay really local. Probably for a few years. But if you are going offshore in any kind of sea, would you really want to trust that?
 
Paul_A said:
Is the question how far the damage extends or is the question how far offshore would you trust that vessel?

You could stuff the crack full of 5200 and stay really local. Probably for a few years. But if you are going offshore in any kind of sea, would you really want to trust that?
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I don't plan to test to the Grady White Positive Flotation feature!

The question really is "Based on first hand experience how far do you think the water intrusion has traveled given what the transom looks like?".

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I'm pretty sure the the answer is that the problem isn't isolated. Probably have to pull the bang cap on both sides to see more. There is no swelling of the transom and no flex with the motors. I have fuel tanks that I was planning on replacing this year. I have to prioritize what gets done this summer.
 
Unless there is obvious delamination detected by doing a tapping test on several areas of the transom, the only way to get an idea of the extent of the water is to have a moisture test done by a knowledgeable technician or surveyor.
The bang cap looks pretty corroded but that doesn't necessarily tell you if and how bad the water intrusion is. To do a thorough physical inspection, the motors have to be removed and the bang cap removed. Unfortunately, inspecting the area under the rub rail is not so easy since there is no way to open and inspect that area without cutting out some fiberglass.
 
I'm going to try to get it into an experienced shop for a look.
 
Been there and done that. 7-10K all day depending on what they find. That cap is a foolish design and GW needs to address it. Sad that they know this is going on and continue to build that way.
 
Hookup1 said:
I don't plan to test to the Grady White Positive Flotation feature!

The question really is "Based on first hand experience how far do you think the water intrusion has traveled given what the transom looks like?".

View attachment 26117 View attachment 26118 View attachment 26119 View attachment 26121 View attachment 26122 View attachment 26120

I'm pretty sure the the answer is that the problem isn't isolated. Probably have to pull the bang cap on both sides to see more. There is no swelling of the transom and no flex with the motors. I have fuel tanks that I was planning on replacing this year. I have to prioritize what gets done this summer.
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I'm guessing lots more water intrusion on the transom. Every screw on the bang cap looks like it leaks. The sides have sealant peeling. As has been said, professional assessment time.
 
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