Transom Spider Cracks

[igblack87]

Just had my bang plate replaced as the old aluminum cap was corroded. Shop said everything looked pretty good under the cap - they sealed the top with resin. Got the boat back and noticed some spider cracks around the top motor mount bolts on the transom.

***These cracks were not here before I brought the boat in for service.***

No bulging, no flexing, no other cracks. Thoughts?

 

[Stephnic]

Could it be from over tightening the motor bolts? i would call where you had it done so they could look at it.

 

[seasick]

In the second photo, I see a crack that appears not to be new since it dirt embedded in it.
I also see areas with a caulking applied and it wasn't such a great job. Some caulk looks pretty new. If the motor was removed for the bang plate job, I would suspect that the reinstallation and bolt tightening caused the cracks. That process shouldn't have done that. Maybe the transom is not in as good a shape as you are led to believe.
Can you check the other side of the engine bolts to see if there are indentations from tightening the bolts?

 

[igblack87]

In the second photo, I see a crack that appears not to be new since it dirt embedded in it.
I also see areas with a caulking applied and it wasn't such a great job. Some caulk looks pretty new. If the motor was removed for the bang plate job, I would suspect that the reinstallation and bolt tightening caused the cracks. That process shouldn't have done that. Maybe the transom is not in as good a shape as you are led to believe.
Can you check the other side of the engine bolts to see if there are indentations from tightening the bolts?

Good call on checking the other side…I should have put a picture of that as well. There is not indentations of the bolt head or washer.

 

[seasick]

Yes, I was wondering about indentations or local cracks.
It may just be that there was some delamination around the motor bolt holes that when retightened caused cracks. It may not be a big deal. That depends on how deep they are and how well the motor bracket is now sealed. Small spider cracks can be slightly enlarged just to create a clean bonding surface and them patched with something like Spectrum color matched paste. If the cracks are not deep at all, some gel coat might be sufficient. Again, the cracks have to be cleaned but that might be just a scrapping with a pointed tool like a scratch awl. I would try buffing one with some polishing compound to see if the cracks gets more pronounced or hopefully less pronounced. In the later case, the cracks are probably not deep, just stress cracks in the gel coat.

 

[glacierbaze]

I would back off one of the nuts, just to see how tight they are, maybe the mech used an air rachet, instead of a hand rachet. Or use a torque wrench, to see how tight they are. Any cracks around the bottom bolts?

 

[igblack87]

I would back off one of the nuts, just to see how tight they are, maybe the mech used an air rachet, instead of a hand rachet. Or use a torque wrench, to see how tight they are. Any cracks around the bottom bolts?

None that I can see.

 

[igblack87]

This issue as been resolved. Dealer reviewed & fixed the issue. It was a small void between fiberglass and gelcoat on either side. They took the engine off, fixed each void & put engine back on.

 

[Fishtales]

Not what you want to see. Hopefully just superficial. I'd just wait it out and see how it progresses. If there is core damage you can't do much at this point.