232 transom repair

[machinehead]

well I was working on my Grady 232 the other day and noticed a wet dark line coming from around one of the trim tab mounting screws. After further inspection looks like I need to replace the transom and it does not look like an easy job. I am good with the wood and fiberglass work just don't want to have to cut out the floor and pillars on each side. Anybody had good success with removing the skin from the rear? I plan on going ahead and filling in the transom and running a bracket but I have twins. My concern is one the weight, but also the torque. Will removing the skin from the back mess up the structural integrity or should I cut the floor or remove the cap and do it from the inside? Hope that is not the case but my gut tells me otherwise, any suggestions? Thanks guy's look forward to any.

 

[striped bass]

Lots of good pics on this site and THT of a rear skin removal. Do a search and you will find it.

BTW, what is the year of your 232?

 

[machinehead]

Thanks! I am new here, this site was recommended by a guy on another forum that I am on. I will look for the pictures. My Grady boat is an 88 with 03 yami 150's.

 

[uncljohn]

just cause you got some saturation into one screw hole doesn't mean the transom needs to be replaced. You need to dry out the area and then see if the wood is still strong underneath. It might be an isolated area.

I had a water-soaked transom (spots around the kicker mount and the control pass-thru). I drilled holes into the core from the bilge, put a low-pressure air pump on it for a few months (used an aquarium pump, jammed the hose into each hole, let it run for a week, then moved to a different hole). After it was dried out, I pumped epoxy with a little bit of cabosil into each hole (from the bottom up) and filled up my core with nice epoxy. Seems strong now (knock on wood, on my 3rd year after that fix)

 

[machinehead]

I was considering doing something similar, I have confirmed it is only in spots. I want to install a bracket and fill the void between the pillars with a livewell and teak tackle center. Not sure if I want to do all that work with the transom in the current condition. I will probably go ahead and use it this year and plan all this for next winter. Thanks for the info!

 

[richie rich]

Before you go putting a bracket on a non-bracketed transom, think about it. That transom may not be designed to handle the extra torque of an engine hanging roughly 2 feet off the back. You would need to strengthen the transom from the inside with knee braces to the hull/stringers. If you are going to do that, and it's already wet in spots....do the whole thing from the inside. Take a look at Vero Wings posts....he just did a transom from the inside with detailed pics...very nice job....if you don't do a totally perfect job from the outside, you can end up with major problems, and you still won't be strong enough for a bracket.

 

[cdwood]

I'm with richie on this one. Having done my 85 204c from the outside if I were to do it again would definately go from the inside.

If you cut the deck right you will end up with far less finish work, preserve the outer skins integrity and have access to everything needed for a full structure rehab.

 

[stevblutu15]

One great think i found to get water out is drill a small hole and put a Q-tip into the hole. The cotton draws out the water and it drips out the other end. Then after a few days, or when it is dry, fill it with epoxy as said above.

 

[gw204]

Everything you ever wanted to know about rebuilding a transom can be found here: www.classicmako.com

 

[BobP]

And then some -

 

[gw204]

And that reminds me.... I need to get back to hacking on my little Mako.