BAD Transom Rot

[Doc Stressor]

A guy on a local Facebook fishing group that I follow posted this picture. He said that it was the guy ahead of him at the ramp. The guy told him that he just put the motor on 2 days ago and "It just fell off". That's all I know about the story, but it must have happened while the guy was backing down the ramp.

 

[leeccoll]

Ouch!! That's gonna leave a mark.

 

[Bloodweiser]

I dont know much, but wouldn't there be some signs of deterioration or degradation somewhere? THT will love this

 

[Doc Stressor]

When I replaced the transom on my old 204c years ago, I didn't know that I had a problem until I removed a transducer and a bunch of water ran out of the holes. Everything appeared solid, but when they cut the old transom out you could see the black rotted areas under the bang plate. The rest of the wood looked brown. To be honest, I never tried to test for flexing by jumping up and down on the anti-ventilation plate. If I have done that I would likely have seen the top of the transom area flex.

I've only been on one boat (not a Grady) where the transom failed offshore. The transom stayed in place but the angle of the engine was all wrong when we got back in. Never heard of an engine falling off like this one apparently did.

 

[Summertop511]

Essentially all from the transom bang plate cap. My 05 had raw wood underneath of it. I see these big 37 and 36 models and think wow. Three motors gotta come off to fix that cap.

 

[Toothpick 10]

Any idea of the model and year?

 

[UCPA111]

At least it looks like he still has the transom piece. Can glue it back on? LOL!

That stinks!

 

[DennisG01]

Been there... luckily with a smaller engine. Sucks with any size engine, but certainly more involved as things get bigger.

Last summer, my son, barely 15 years old, and I pulled an old, 13' skiff out of the woods where it had been sitting on our property in Maine for a couple decades. It was time to have a dad & son project. I had just gotten an old 2.2hp Merc for $50 and it was like new - ran great. So, we carry the boat down to the water, put the engine on... could tell right away that the transom was soft, but it seemed to be holding well enough for the hamster-powered engine. So, away we go for a little exploring on our "new" boat. Ran around for about an hour - he tried his hand at his first time with a tiller steer - that was "fun"! All went well. Back to the dock we go.

I tell Cody - hey, why don't you take the boat out by yourself! He is hesitant, but finally decides, with some prodding, it would be fun. I sat on the dock to watch him, eating a snack... actually it was Capt'n Crunch in a ziploc baggie... and truthfully, it was his snack. Anyways, he pulls away from the dock and literally, within 20' of the dock, he makes a hard turn and the engine goes ker-plunk! He was a captain of a power boat for all of 8 seconds.

The boat, and Cody were facing away from me. He just sat there - refusing to turn around towards me. I think he thought I was going to be mad at him. I just kept eating the Capt'n Crunch - it had been a long time since I ate some of that and it was tasting awfully good! He continued to just sit there, not facing me, and I continued to eat. How could I be mad? He didn't do a thing wrong. It was actually kind of funny! Finally he turned around, after what seemed like an eternity, although was likely only a minute. I just asked "Hey, bud, what happened there?" He didn't know what to say. I told him to oar in and we tied the boat up. I gave him a hug to let him know everything was OK. We started to walk back up towards the cabin, but I paused and said "Guess who's going swimming tomorrow at low tide?" He smiled, grinned and simply said "Me". THAT was a great freakin' day!

A few days later, we rebuilt the little transom together. And after thoroughly cleaning the engine again, it was back to running in tip top shape. This time, though, I added a small, stout cleat to the inside of the transom and tied off the engine to it...

 

[glacierbaze]

I'm thinking that he forgot to raise the engine, and caught the skeg backing down the ramp.

 

[Doc Stressor]

That was my guess too. I can't see how else the engine could have ended up in the boat. It must have hit the swim platform when it came off.

But the transom is a rotted mess.

 

[Bloodweiser]

there is rope tied around the motor, maybe after the incident a tow truck or something lifted back unto the boat.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

If I had to guess it's an 80s to early 90s 208. You can see in the background the captains seat and storage box. I have said it before, and will say it again, if Grady engineers would listen, the achellies heel of their boats is the transom cap. Somebody has had to tell them this at least once, I am betting twice.

A little duct tape , some bondo and paint and she will be good as new.

For years now I can't understand why THT people hate Grady so much . They do. I don't like Chevy one bit, will never ever buy one, but I don't go the truck and trailer board there and rag on Chevy. It's a free market , don't like Grady , don't buy one and just move on.

 

[DanS]

I'm trying to determine if there is anything I can do now to avoid that situation. My '86 Tournament 192 has black stains down the transom, which are coming from under the transom cap and a drain hole from the splash well. They occur when the boat is on the lift and the afternoon sun is shining directly onto the back of the boat. Does this mean I have transom rot? Anyone in the southeast that can make an evaluation and recommendation? The boat is in pristine condition, re-powered in '09.

 

[DennisG01]

I'm trying to determine if there is anything I can do now to avoid that situation. My '86 Tournament 192 has black stains down the transom, which are coming from under the transom cap and a drain hole from the splash well. They occur when the boat is on the lift and the afternoon sun is shining directly onto the back of the boat. Does this mean I have transom rot? Anyone in the southeast that can make an evaluation and recommendation? The boat is in pristine condition, re-powered in '09.

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you are saying... it sounds like you are saying that the sun beating down on the boat causes black stains to appear. That doesn't make sense. Unless, maybe it's causing moisture in the transom to escape as it heats up... which may answer your question right there.

There are tons of threads on here about transom inspection and transom cap stuff. Just search around a bit and you'll find it. After you find some of that info, it will probably answer most of your questions.

But if you still have more questions, go ahead and start a new thread - pictures are always helpful.

Also... just do some plain googling on the internet for transom and transom cap issues - it really doesn't have to be specific to your boat - it's pretty much all the same. It's kinda like saying "How do I check the condition of my tires on my 1990 Accord"... the 1990 Accord makes no difference.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I think I understand what DanS is seeing. I also had black streaks running down the transom on my old 204C before I replaced it.

When the wood inside the transom gets wet and the sun heats up the transom when the boat is out of the water, the water inside the wood expands and gets extruded out from under the aluminum bang plate. The dark color is from both rotted wood and aluminum oxide from the bang plate itself. On a 34 year old boat with a wood transom, you are most likely overdue for replacement.

While it is best to hire an experienced surveyed with a calibrated moisture meter, the are a number of things you can do yourself to test the integrity of your transom:

1. Stand on the anti-ventilation plate of your engine and jounce up and down. Look in the area of the mounting bolts and see if you see flexing.

2. Take a ball-peen hammer and listen to the sound when you sharply tap the transom. Start out in the upper corner near where it meets the gunwale. That spot should be dry even if your transom is wet. Keep tapping from top to bottom and then tap closer to and eventually below the engine. If the transom is really bad you will definitely hear a hollow sound in the wet spots.

3. Drill a small hole or two in the lower part of the transom and see if water runs out. That's how I initially found my rot. If the transom turns out to be dry and shows no flexing, you can easily repair the holes with thickened epoxy.

 

[DanS]

Thanks guys,
I'm afraid Doc Stressor probably has it correct, sun is heating up the moisture and it's escaping in the form of a dark juice running down and staining the transom.
I'll do the tapping test, but I'm not sure I have enough confidence to stand on the engine and jump up and down.
Have seen a lot of stuff on YouTube, enough to scare me, and think you guys are confirming my fears.
34 years ago the transoms were made of wood...water plus wood times 34 years equals rot...got it.
But my daughters have been raised on this boat, my wife is in love with it and so am I, it's in pristine condition and a grandson will get it one day...so I need to know who can fix it for me?
Can you give me some guidance?

 

[DanS]

Thanks guys,
I'm afraid Doc Stressor probably has it correct, sun is heating up the moisture and it's escaping in the form of a dark juice running down and staining the transom.
I'll do the tapping test, but I'm not sure I have enough confidence to stand on the engine and jump up and down.
Have seen a lot of stuff on YouTube, enough to scare me, and think you guys are confirming my fears.
34 years ago the transoms were made of wood...water plus wood times 34 years equals rot...got it.
But my daughters have been raised on this boat, my wife is in love with it and so am I, it's in pristine condition and a grandson will get it one day...so I need to know who can fix it for me?
Can you give me some guidance?

Home port, Greenville, SC