Islander transom/bang plate/woes

[Neckbone]

About to be pulling the motors and removing the bang plate from the Islander. 1995 vintage…what do you expect to see under there? I do have a few millimeters of movement in the circled area on the pictures. A few questions…

There is the angle aluminum piece and a separate (fiberglass?) cover that “finishes” the forward facing part of the transom…will that piece pry off? And what it is called?

Does anyone have any pictures of their transom jobs or what they found with their bang plates removed? Thank you…I’m pretty nervous to see what I’m going to find.

 

[Hookup1]

Any evidence the transom is "moving"? Look for crack along the rub rail top and bottom. Check well in front of engine. Look at outboard edges of transom for vertical cracks. If no other cracking I would just re-caulk without removing the engine(s). Monitor it.

Drop the board with the battery switches down and get a camera in there to inspect the stringers. Look at engine bolt holes for evidence of swelling. The inconvenient truth is you eventually will need a transom/stringer job with that vintage GW. Fuel tanks too.

I'm watching mine. Here are some photos - not all of my boat - just to give you an idea of what to look for.

 

[Neckbone]

Any evidence the transom is "moving"? Look for crack along the rub rail top and bottom. Check well in front of engine. Look at outboard edges of transom for vertical cracks. If no other cracking I would just re-caulk without removing the engine(s). Monitor it.

Drop the board with the battery switches down and get a camera in there to inspect the stringers. Look at engine bolt holes for evidence of swelling. The inconvenient truth is you eventually will need a transom/stringer job with that vintage GW. Fuel tanks too.

I'm watching mine. Here are some photos - not all of my boat - just to give you an idea of what to look for.

View attachment 32047 View attachment 32048 View attachment 32049 View attachment 32050

With me jumping up and down on the motors giving her hell there is a few millimeters of movement at the seam I have circled. I cant find any other signed of a failing transom (motor bolts/washers seem flush without any play in them, stringer knees tied to transom look good from the inside. (will inspect again and upload some pictures after work).

What im hoping for is to remove the bang plate and find a relatively healthy transom and glass over/finish the transom cap and move on to the next project

 

[family affair]

I don't know the name of the part that you are asking about, but my 2005 also has it. Does your 95 have aluminum angle reinforcement also? If you look in the bilge, you will see aluminum angles bolted to the stringers running up to the angle at the top of the transom. I know GW was using these in the late 90s at least. This was a double edged sword. It strengthened and stiffened the transom, but once water hit it with the preservative in Greenboard XL (started in 97 Islander transoms) it would swell and delaminate the fiberglass.
I can tell you for certain mine doesn't move at that point - at least not a few mm. It's possible an all wood transom might flex some, but your 200 ish pounds is nothing compared to 1k lbs thrust per engine and the moment/torque induced to the transom.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the odds of your transom not being wet are not good. Between the half-assed deck to hull seal and the flaired splash well fittings, odds are not in your favor. To really know what you have, I would run the boat before pulling the engines. Have someone throttle up while you are watching the transom. My fingers are crossed for you.

 

[Neckbone]

I don't know the name of the part that you are asking about, but my 2005 also has it. Does your 95 have aluminum angle reinforcement also? If you look in the bilge, you will see aluminum angles bolted to the stringers running up to the angle at the top of the transom. I know GW was using these in the late 90s at least. This was a double edged sword. It strengthened and stiffened the transom, but once water hit it with the preservative in Greenboard XL (started in 97 Islander transoms) it would swell and delaminate the fiberglass.
I can tell you for certain mine doesn't move at that point - at least not a few mm. It's possible an all wood transom might flex some, but your 200 ish pounds is nothing compared to 1k lbs thrust per engine and the moment/torque induced to the transom.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the odds of your transom not being wet are not good. Between the half-assed deck to hull seal and the flaired splash well fittings, odds are not in your favor. To really know what you have, I would run the boat before pulling the engines. Have someone throttle up while you are watching the transom. My fingers are crossed for you.

Boat does in fact have the aluminum bracing bolted to the stringers and ran through the transom. as a 1996 I do not believe there is Greenwood XL. Such a shame they didn't take the time to glass over the transom...makes no sense. The more familiar I get with this hull the less I like about it. Not sure where Grady gets their praise for a well built solid boat.

 

[family affair]

Most boats have their weak points. Grady's do a lot of things well. Sealing up the transom on older boats was nothing to brag about. If the previous owners stayed on top of water intrusion areas, you might have little to be worried about. If not, you might have some repairs to do. Considering the price of new boats, you will still be way ahead with some repairs - if needed. Yeah, it's a PIA.

 

[Hookup1]

The top fiberglass shop here in Cape May County, NJ told me that they won't do a transom before their time is up. Too hard to take apart. There has to be more evidence with cracks occurring.

I wouldn't pull the engines unless you are prepared to re-do the transom. Most likley you will find that you have a wet transom. The water intrudes and gets to the stringers. The stringers separate from the transom. Now you have no vertical support for the transom other than the fiberglass hull.

 

[Neckbone]

The top fiberglass shop here in Cape May County, NJ told me that they won't do a transom before their time is up. Too hard to take apart. There has to be more evidence with cracks occurring.

I wouldn't pull the engines unless you are prepared to re-do the transom. Most likley you will find that you have a wet transom. The water intrudes and gets to the stringers. The stringers separate from the transom. Now you have no vertical support for the transom other than the fiberglass hull

Only evidence I see is the flexing at the joint where that caulking is separating.. I would love to kick the can down the road if at all possible, but I also need to know the boat is structurally sound and able to take a beating offshore. My logic of pulling the motors and bang plate was to peek in there and see just how long I have. Perhaps I can see in there a bit if I pull the rub rail away?

 

[Hookup1]

Only evidence I see is the flexing at the joint where that caulking is separating.. I would love to kick the can down the road if at all possible, but I also need to know the boat is structurally sound and able to take a beating offshore. My logic of pulling the motors and bang plate was to peek in there and see just how long I have. Perhaps I can see in there a bit if I pull the rub rail away?

Pull the screws from the rub rail across the back of the boat. That caulk separation is just UV aging (not flex) and letting water in. Clean it out and re-caulk. Pulling the bang cap you are going to see a wet transom. You really can't see anything. Have a surveyor put a moisture meter on the transom and the stringers.

 

[Neckbone]

Pull the screws from the rub rail across the back of the boat. That caulk separation is just UV aging (not flex) and letting water in. Clean it out and re-caulk. Pulling the bang cap you are going to see a wet transom. You really can't see anything. Have a surveyor put a moisture meter on the transom and the stringers.

Good idea pulling the run rail back… will I be able to see any transom in there or is it covered between the deck cap and hull?

There def is a little flexing of a few millimeters at that joint where the caulk is.. I jump up and down on the skeg really hard I can watch it move some. It’s not a lot but in my head any movement is a bad sign..

 

[Hookup1]

Good idea pulling the run rail back… will I be able to see any transom in there or is it covered between the deck cap and hull?

There def is a little flexing of a few millimeters at that joint where the caulk is.. I jump up and down on the skeg really hard I can watch it move some. It’s not a lot but in my head any movement is a bad sign..

The two photo's on the left are my boat. You can see the wet transom. I cut it out to repair it. Without opening it up there is nothing to see.

Where are you located? Maybe you can have a good shop look at it.

My guys in NJ told me to use mine - it's too soon. They walked away from a $10,000 job! I have seen at least two GW's that sank and were recovered (pictures above right side - CaptainRetriever YouTube video). There had to be more evidence of a failing transom in their case.

 

[Neckbone]

The two photo's on the left are my boat. You can see the wet transom. I cut it out to repair it. Without opening it up there is nothing to see.

Where are you located? Maybe you can have a good shop look at it.

My guys in NJ told me to use mine - it's too soon. They walked away from a $10,000 job! I have seen at least two GW's that sank and were recovered (pictures above right side - CaptainRetriever YouTube video). There had to be more evidence of a failing transom in their case.

Wow, so you had some visible cracking there and she still wasn’t ready??.. that’s crazy.. or was that later on? Good on them though for doing what is right. I’m in Florida.. I want to do some long range trips, Bahamas. Tortugas. Etc. I am all for prolonging the inevitable as long as I am safe on the water. From what I am gathering you don’t expect there to be rotten soft wood that is falling apart based on what the outside skin looks like:.. wet wood for sure. FWIW I removed the scuppers from the transom and no water came out. Stuck a tooth pick in the screw holes and it didn’t some out saturated.
So sounds like I should caulk her up and keep it moving. A little bit of play in that transom doesn’t concern you all that much?

 

[Hookup1]

Wow, so you had some visible cracking there and she still wasn’t ready??.. that’s crazy.. or was that later on? Good on them though for doing what is right. I’m in Florida.. I want to do some long range trips, Bahamas. Tortugas. Etc. I am all for prolonging the inevitable as long as I am safe on the water. From what I am gathering you don’t expect there to be rotten soft wood that is falling apart based on what the outside skin looks like:.. wet wood for sure. FWIW I removed the scuppers from the transom and no water came out. Stuck a tooth pick in the screw holes and it didn’t some out saturated.
So sounds like I should caulk her up and keep it moving. A little bit of play in that transom doesn’t concern you all that much?

I'm leaving this weekend for Islamorada - 2 1/2 months. I'll be fishing every day if possible but it will be within 30 miles. I did fuel tanks this year and was busy with work stuff. If I had the time this year I would have done the transom. Instead it will be done in the spring.

268 Islander Fuel Tank Replacement

Decided that this is the year to replace my 25 yo fuel tanks. No leaks. I plan to keep the boat. I'll document the process here. Pulled the hatch. This hatch was rebuilt a few years ago with Coosa board. Looks good and feels solid. Hatch was set with 3M 4000 - kept everything sealed. Some...

www.greatgrady.com

That cracking (both sides but more so on starboard side) has been there for years. Also starboard hold down cracked gelcoat (you can see a little in photo) from swelled transom. And top of transom under bang cap is swollen. Surveyor detected some moisture. I put some ratchet straps and bees wax on the boat just in case. If it does fail I can remove the engine covers, hook top engine bracket to tower leg and pull back in place. Close cracks with wax. Wait for BoatUS! I'm really not expecting the transom to fail but want to have a plan to deal with it.



The GG owners that I exchanged messages with said their transoms were far worse than they expected when they opened them up.

 

[Fishtales]

More than likely going to find some damage. Expect a 4-8K bill I'd say.

 

[Pat Hurley]

you may get lucky ... however be prepared to "touch your toes"