Looking for input on transom cracks

[rmf4grady]

Hi,

First time posting here. I have a 1999 208 adventure that unfortunately has been sitting for many years on a trailer in front of my house.
I live in new jersey and I think the weather might have done some damage to the transom, There are two cracks and I'm not sure if its just the gelcoat or something
more significant. They are on either side of the spalshwell (i think thats what it is called). I can jump on the 175 yamaha with no bend or give in the transom. Tried tapping
with a hammer and found a few small hollow sounding spots but none close to the motor. I have included some pictures. Just hoping to get some input from the more experienced on what it could be. Any suggestions on a good fiberglass repair in central/south jersey that I can trust would be helpful.
Thanks

 

[seasick]

Since you are in an area where it freezes, I suspect you have freeze damage due to water in the transom. There seems to be fairly extensive cracking with significant crack width from swelling of the frozen water. These are not simple gelcoat spider cracks. Photo 2 shows the crack stress that telegraphed right through the plastic well trim.
Moisture probably seeped into the transom due to poor caulking, froze, expanded and put a lot of strain on the structure. If the core is not rotten or delaminated (your hollow sounds during tapping is not a good sign, where exactly were they?).
If the core is solid, not delaminated, the repair could be as simple as grounding out the cracks, drying the core ( not the easiest task) , patching the cracks and gelcoat and resealing all the penetrations and transom cap/trim.
In the worst case, the transom is rotten and needs to be rebuilt. You situation is probably somewhere in between. For example, your transom may be rotten around the motor well cap and molding and just for an inch or two.
You can't tell until you look deeper. That probably means removal of the motor and then the cap trim.
Again, where were the hollow sounds?

 

[rmf4grady]

 

[Fishtales]

I'd say you have a problem with water penetration and likely core damage. That doesn't look good to me. It may be transom time.....

 

[seasick]

I would not have expected that spot to sound hollow since there are no obvious penetrations in the area. Check behind the spot in the bilge if you can for any obvious entry points or streaks like you have at the crack and under the transom cap. Those streaks are seepage form inside the coring and indicate moisture , possible extensive rot. It's hard to tell.
At this point to minimise the labor, I would remove the starboard side plastic motor well side trim. It is possible it will fall apart since it appears brittle. In any case try to get it off in one piece using scrappers and a sharp blade. Once off, take a look and probe the edge it was covering. You probably will find some rot. What is important is how deep and extensive the rot is.
Although a bit of wishful thinking, it is a slim possibility that the hollow spot has been there for a long time and is not a major fault.
You can also remove the clambshell fitting for the transducer cable, try to remove the sealant and probe that area inside also to see if the coreing is soft/rotten.

 

[rmf4grady]

Thanks Seasick for all your help. I did take the cap off both sides. I found solid wood but with a crack in the wood right under the crack in the cap. I will post pics.
After reading your comments I decided to try another tap test. The spot I highlighted in the pic above wasn't as significant the second time around. Maybe my ear is improving. But I did find a hollow sounding spot below the water line just above the drain plug on the starboard side, the port side sounded fine,( I will post pic). The sound is more of a hollow one, not a thump, but not like the ping you get when you tap over good spot. I decided to put a hole in the fiberglass right over the hollow spot and check for rot. I drilled a 3/8 inch hole and looked for rotten wood. Didin't really see anything bad. The wood was hard to chip into and looked ok on the drill bit. One thing I did notice was the fiberglass over the transom seemed to be separated from the wood. I think that's what is giving it the hollow sound.

You think I should go bigger on the hole to see more?

 

[seasick]

Thanks Seasick for all your help. I did take the cap off both sides. I found solid wood but with a crack in the wood right under the crack in the cap. I will post pics.
After reading your comments I decided to try another tap test. The spot I highlighted in the pic above wasn't as significant the second time around. Maybe my ear is improving. But I did find a hollow sounding spot below the water line just above the drain plug on the starboard side, the port side sounded fine,( I will post pic). The sound is more of a hollow one, not a thump, but not like the ping you get when you tap over good spot. I decided to put a hole in the fiberglass right over the hollow spot and check for rot. I drilled a 3/8 inch hole and looked for rotten wood. Didin't really see anything bad. The wood was hard to chip into and looked ok on the drill bit. One thing I did notice was the fiberglass over the transom seemed to be separated from the wood. I think that's what is giving it the hollow sound.

You think I should go bigger on the hole to see more?

Water intrusion and subsequent rot are quite common around the drain plug. The coring of the hole is often poorly sealed or not sealed at all. By sealed I mean that the inside of the holes should have been coated wit a good layer of resin.

The separated glass layer if you are referring to the inner or outer skin of the transom is called delamination. That is generally a bad sign but if it is limited in scope to just the areas around the transom cap ( an inch or two in area) and the coring seems solid, you probably can get away with a somewhat simple repair.
The cracks them selves have to be ground out and repaired with resin and gelcoat. If the surface next to the cracks are flush, that is ageed. If they are slightly swollen, the are can be ground, that is more complex but can be fixed.
If the cracked areas are very swollen, things are much more complicated

 

[Greatty]

I concur with what Fishtails posted above. I just went through a transom replacement on a 99 180 and I only had one of those cracks in the gelcoat on the starboard side. I wish you luck, but unfortunately I believe the entire transom in need of replacement judging by those pics. - Bob

 

[rmf4grady]

Thanks Greatty I'm hoping to get lucky here. I thought the improved wood in the 99 year would help but I guess it might not have been enough.
I'm gonna take the motor off to get a better view. Will post updates. I really like this boat and I'm rather attached to it. First and last expensive thing I ever
bought for myself back in 99.

BTW Greaty just wondering how much you paid for your work? Also were the stringers a problem too?

 

[Greatty]

I paid $6500 to have mine redone. Like you, i am attached to my boat and also figured I'd rather not try to buy new (with today's prices) or buy used and get some unknown problems. I posted some pictures in a thread below started by ifishfortuna. That will give you an idea what the inside of the transom might look like. Good luck and let us know what it looks like / how you proceed.

 

[steveditt]

I have a 98 208 was wondering if cutting the aluminum cap with a dremel each side of the motor and resealing without removing the motor is worth it since that is a problem area ? Thanks

 

[Legend]

As a temporary fix a got some aluminum flashing and siliconed it over the existing cap - did the job for a few yean before a permanent repair

 

[trapper]

Steve, it is not really a big event to remove the outboard, if you can find an overhead lifting point. An inexpensive chain hoist (under $100). I have removed the F200 on my 208 3 times. Remove clean up and replace the transom cap, and twice to play with the out board height when experimenting with props. Also a good time to check (easier to get at) your splash well drains. Good luck!

 

[rmf4grady]

update on the transom...I will be taking my young kids out on this boat so I really need to be sure the transom is sound, With that in mind I decided
to take a look at the wood underneath, I used a holesaw and made three holes. Two were in areas where I heard a hollow sound when tapping. The other is right below the
crack on the port side. I included them below
1) THIS ONE YOUCAN SEE FIBERGLASS IS NOT ATTACHED TO THE WOOD BUT THE WOOD IS SOLID I STABED IT WITH A SCREWDRIVER AND NO CHIPPING AT ALL IT WAS SOLID

 

[rmf4grady]

next is on the port side same general areath

 

[rmf4grady]

last one right below the port side crack you can see the crack in the right hand corner...the wood is darker(maybe wet) here but solid
you casn see the gouges where i put a flathead screwdriver and hammered it

 

[Greatty]

That last picture looks familiar (like mine). Unfortunately, the wood will never dry out and if you are in a climate where it freezes then the freeze / thaw cycle will continue which I'm sure caused the gelcoat cracks to begin with. At some point the transom will need repair or replacement.

 

[rmf4grady]

Thanks for the reply Greatty. Seems like that area got some water intrusion over the years. Dont know what to do at this point. I'm going to pull the motor and do
some more checking. Looks like I will need to get it to a pro for some estimates and then make up my mind. The outboard runs and compression test
was good so at least that's some good news. Hate to let it go, but if it's going to be the nightmare I see some of the older Grady rebuilds go through then I guess I have to.

 

[seasick]

That last picture looks familiar (like mine). Unfortunately, the wood will never dry out and if you are in a climate where it freezes then the freeze / thaw cycle will continue which I'm sure caused the gelcoat cracks to begin with. At some point the transom will need repair or replacement.

There was and may still be a company that dries out transoms. They drill a lot of small holes on the inside of the transom (maybe the outside too) and attach vacuum hoses with glued on fittings over the holes. They then run a vacuum pump for a period of time and suck out the moisture. I have no idea how ell it works and what transom issues the procedure is best suited for.
There is a site that deals with wood rot and treatments. Some of it sounds interesting but I have no hands on experience with the treatments described.

CPES™ - The Rot Doctor

PES is an excellent wood preservation, rot repair and restoration product. It can be used on any wood in boats, in and around homes, Log Homes and RV's.

www.rotdoctor.com

I wonder id anyone on this forum has used their product, particularly CPES

 

[Beyond A Wake]

I once used some Git Rot on my dinghy transom. It is an epoxy product. I drilled a number of holes and filled them up so the product was supposed to penetrate the rotten areas and set so it all would become solid.
It was of course a mini sized transom compared to the one in question and the motor used was a 3hp so not that much weight or moment/torque in question.
It did it job and I used the Dinghy for a few years until I sold it with the boat.

The forces created by the motor are significant so make sure the transom is up to it before going out.

Good luck
H