Seafarer 228 Transom Rot?

[Norcoastal]

There are a lot of threads on GW rotted transoms. I have a 228 which is bracketed. I tested the core right after I bought the boat. It’s a 1988 and seems to have a dry transom. I drilled holes in the transom in a bunch of places, and the wood appeared to be dry.

My question is, are there any 228 owners who’ve experienced rot when your motor is mounted on the bracket and full transom?

My boat is in great shape with a new motor and I’m adding a hardtop in June. My hope is that the bracketed transoms will last longer and the boat will have some value when I go and sell it.

 

[Ryhlick]

I have a 1999 228 and mine is dry as well. Replaced the trim tabs and rebedded the swim platform. All the areas I drilled and filled, were in great shape. Being that the 228 doesn’t have the dreaded band cap, I think this models transom is less of an issue.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Unless there's a way for the water to come in like a broken/cracked or missing bang cap, damage and cracks at or below the waterline, etc... there shouldn't be any reason why you'd have water intrusion in the stern of your boat. Especially on a 228 Seafarer which yes as mentioned, has the transom bracket. Of which that would make me ask the question, why in the world would you drill holes into your transom?

 

[Norcoastal]

That’s a fair question, I paid $2000 for a wreck. Spent the past three years restoring it. I banged on it with a mallet and it sounded solid but before I put thousands of dollars and hours of time into the boat I wanted to make sure that I had a dry transom. And it does. I was just wondering if anybody else had water intrusion on a 228 prior to 1990 I guess would be the best barometer.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I guess my thoughts on the matter would be that I personally would've gotten a moisture meter and used that instead, which would've been non-invasive , and would've given you a decent idea as to the overall condition of the hull. Obviously moisture meters have their limitations, especially on deep fiberglass, but it would give you an idea as to what you're dealing with, on top of general observational clues like water/rust stains and seepage, flexing in the transom when raising and lowering the motor or under power, etc.

 

[Norcoastal]

My question doesn’t ask for buying tips. My question was, are there any 228 owners who’ve experienced rot when your motor is mounted on the bracket and full transom?

It’s a question of common issues and to what degree.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

My question doesn’t ask for buying tips. My question was, are there any 228 owners who’ve experienced rot when your motor is mounted on the bracket and full transom?

It’s a question of common issues and to what degree.

I think you answered you own question in your first post... "My hope is that the bracketed transoms will last longer and the boat will have some value when I go and sell it." of which a little bit of research before drilling could've saved you some of the hassle. I guess it's mostly water under the bridge at this point. That being said, I've personally never seen or heard of a 228 Seafarer or 232 Gulfstream with the transom bracket on it naturally having issues. Other than when there is something else introduced into the equation like cracks, damage, etc. The times I do see boats having issues are when they have a bang cap/plate on them, or there is damage of some kind, with water intrusion getting in that way.

 

[Hookup1]

There is a bracketed GW with a bad transom on FB.

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[Mustang65fbk]

The Facebook group is private, of which I'm not a member. So, what are the details of the bracketed GW with the bad transom?

 

[Hookup1]

Sharing FB pages isn't easy to do. I'll just copy and paste.​

Hayden Harris​

·

Took a chunk out of my 1990 232 transom for inspection after it appearing soft. Wood is completely wet and mushy. Does anyone know anyone in swfl that SPECIALIZES in transom rebuilds?

I got a ballpark quote of $15-20K from a shop, that i don't think does transoms too much(not that experienced). Im pretty sure they remove the rear skin and rebuild from the outside of the boat. I was wanting it rebuilt from the inside to ensure it attaches to the rest of the boat properly.
For that price i will be doing it myself with the best of materials and know its structurally sound. The price isn't really what's getting me, its the fact that few people now and days do things correctly.

 

[Fishtales]

If the core is solid, your good. Could always get a moisture meter, but I'm skeptical of them unless it is a high quality one and the person knows and more importantly has experience using it.

 

[letsbarbqnfish]

recently pick up a project, 85 seafarer 22 with twin armstrong bracket, looks like transom was redone. but now using the mallet test, my sounds solid, i will update you soon as i dig into it. but visually, it is looking good so far.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Sharing FB pages isn't easy to do. I'll just copy and paste.​

Hayden Harris​

·

Took a chunk out of my 1990 232 transom for inspection after it appearing soft. Wood is completely wet and mushy. Does anyone know anyone in swfl that SPECIALIZES in transom rebuilds?

I got a ballpark quote of $15-20K from a shop, that i don't think does transoms too much(not that experienced). Im pretty sure they remove the rear skin and rebuild from the outside of the boat. I was wanting it rebuilt from the inside to ensure it attaches to the rest of the boat properly.
For that price i will be doing it myself with the best of materials and know its structurally sound. The price isn't really what's getting me, its the fact that few people now and days do things correctly.


View attachment 33231 View attachment 33232

Hard to tell what is what from a couple of pictures, especially the second which looks like it's from 15'-20' away. That being said, the boat looks like it's definitely been through a few hands before, and especially a few that didn't know what they were doing. The amount of sealant smeared all over the engine boot alone makes me think somebody didn't know what they were doing, or they had a problem and tried the half arsed way of fixing it. On top of that, the seam between the top and bottom half of the boat that's covered by the rub rail looks like it could be the culprit, especially if the rub rail wasn't all there or if it was loose and allowing water in. It's hard to know the history of a now 34 year old boat from a couple of pictures but yes, anything is possible, though you tend to see water intrusion on boats that have the bang cap/plate more often than an enclosed transom.

 

[Captglasshole]

My 1988 242 (bracketed offshore) has a solid transom.

 

[ANDYWOLFE]

GW started using Greenwood XL in 1977 for the core of transoms. It's very rot resistant. In 1988 they were using it for the stringers too. in 2014 they went to full composite transoms and stringers.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

GW started using Greenwood XL in 1977 for the core of transoms. It's very rot resistant. In 1988 they were using it for the stringers too. in 2014 they went to full composite transoms and stringers.

1997...

 

[bFransen]

AS someone who has replaced a transom I'll chime in. While I guess I can't be 100% sure where the water came from, I believe it entered through the bracket. I spent a very long time searching for a source of water and could not track it down. I assumed that my bracket was empty as when I banged on it it sounded hollow. After a rough trip, I noticed some separation between the bracket and the boat. Turns out the bracket had water in it. When nocking on it, it still sounded hollow. I suspect that the added stress of water in the bracket allowed for some flexing that probably pumped the water into the transom. I knew the water had some moisture for a couple years but couldn't figure out how it was getting in.

Moral of the story, previous poster is right that water has to come in somewhere. Make sure your bracket is empty and all underwater points are sealed. All that said, it's not the end of the world to get the transom fixed. Just need to find a shop you trust and schedule the job in the winter when they have time. If anyone needs a shop in the Annapolis, MD area I have one I'd recommend.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

AS someone who has replaced a transom I'll chime in. While I guess I can't be 100% sure where the water came from, I believe it entered through the bracket. I spent a very long time searching for a source of water and could not track it down. I assumed that my bracket was empty as when I banged on it it sounded hollow. After a rough trip, I noticed some separation between the bracket and the boat. Turns out the bracket had water in it. When nocking on it, it still sounded hollow. I suspect that the added stress of water in the bracket allowed for some flexing that probably pumped the water into the transom. I knew the water had some moisture for a couple years but couldn't figure out how it was getting in.

Moral of the story, previous poster is right that water has to come in somewhere. Make sure your bracket is empty and all underwater points are sealed. All that said, it's not the end of the world to get the transom fixed. Just need to find a shop you trust and schedule the job in the winter when they have time. If anyone needs a shop in the Annapolis, MD area I have one I'd recommend.

I can't imagine that the bracket, even if it was completely full with water, would be the only or even the main reason for water intrusion unless there was some sort of other underlying issue in addition to it. If that was the case, I don't imagine they'd have a cap on the top of it, or a drain on the bottom to potentially allow water into it.

 

[DennisG01]

Norcoastal... generally speaking, a solid transom will be fine. However, there are mitigating circumstances where there could be an issue. Any holes cut in the transom (rigging holes, for example) are a source of water entry. But if one is prudent, then they keep up on resealing them and it eliminates (99%, anyways) the possibility. A better solution is to dig out a 1/4" of the core around the perimeter of said hole and squirt epoxy into the wood to saturate it, then finish with thickened epoxy. Do the same for the screw holes.

An engine bracket's bolt holes are another possibility - however they're way down on the list a likely culprit (but not exempt!). The same solution could be done here, as above. But because of how tight the bolts seal, sealant is generally all that is needed - and it lasts a longer time in this case/use than others.

So... yes, a solid transom is usually totally fine. But there "can" be some cases that differ.

 

[bFransen]

I can't imagine that the bracket, even if it was completely full with water, would be the only or even the main reason for water intrusion unless there was some sort of other underlying issue in addition to it. If that was the case, I don't imagine they'd have a cap on the top of it, or a drain on the bottom to potentially allow water into it.

The shop that replaced the transom showed me the bracket and transom after taking the two apart. The bolts coming through the transom were not coming straight out of the bracket. The bolts were coming out at different angles. Maybe that's normal, but they didn't think so. The holes drilled into the transom were not a straight shot through the same size as the bolt, they had to be elongated and open up a good area of the transom to accommodate the angled bracket bolts. I'm not sure how often that happens or even how that can happen by accident. The bolts were welded and were not moving from their position.

So we start with a not so great connection between bracket and transom. Add to that a couple of 700 mile round trip road trips over the years with the bracket potentially being completely filled with water. End result, the mounting washers started to push into the transom. When I showed a surveyor friend he said that it was trailering damage, meaning the issue was from stress driving it down the road. While that may have been the final issue, the transom was showing signs of water for a couple of years and I was trying to figure out where it was coming from so I could stop if before things got bad as there were signs of water from nearby fasteners in the transom.

At the end of the day, I chalk the transom up to a learning experience. Do check your bracket for water. Don't trailer it without checking for water. And, there was probably a Friday job done on the bracket that exasperated the issue causing larger than normal transom holes to be drilled and ultimately allowing the water in.

The transom was replaced with plywood, again. While there are very nice materials out there today, plywood has some really great properties that make it a good material for this application. Sure, you need to keep tighter tabs on things, but if you do it's great for transoms and that's why they took so long to change over.