Where to go to look at possible Transom repair

[TonyD]

Hey guy.. I am feeling a little uneasy about the state of my transom - I can jump on the cavity plate and nothing moves, pretty solid but who would I be able to take my boat to for someone who would have knowledge in this area and would be able to tell me whether or not I should worry?

3 years ago when I had re-powered with a new engine at Somers Point, they said the transom was good. Would a marina like Somers Point be able to help me out (Anyone familiar with Somers Point Marina?) I am looking for someone in N.J., I guess South is where I would have to go ...

Thanks!

Tony D.

 

[gw204]

Young's Fiberglass in Marmora. Never used them but I've heard nothing but great reviews.

 

[seasick]

Young's Fiberglass in Marmora. Never used them but I've heard nothing but great reviews.

I wouldn't go to a mechanic. They can tell you when the transom is shot but you would see that also. By then it's kind of late.
You need a marine surveyor who will do an inspection, hammer test and moisture meter scan of the transom and while they are at it, the rest of the hull and areas that the surveyor knows are prone to water intrusion.
Note that some water intrusion is pretty common and when it is around fittings and limited in extent is not a serious issues. Simply rebedding a fitting ( like a garboard drain)or sealing a screw hole is enough. On the other hand, large wet areas ( the test can tell how wet the areas are), can mean that extensive repairs may be in order.

Good luck

 

[seasick]

One more comment: Often boaters when concerned by possible moisture intrusion of the hull and other structural components, look at purchasing a moisture meter to do their own tests. In addition to the cost of meters, that is generally not a good idea. My analogy is that you can buy a stethoscope and listen to your heart but you probably don't have the training or expertise to know what you are listening to.
The same goes for moisture tests. you need to know how to interpret the readings and how to run the tests.
Of course like hack doctors, there are surveyors and there are 'surveyors'!

 

[TonyD]

Thanks of for the helpful tips guys! Seasick, yeah I'd rather have someone who knows what they are looking (hearing) for than doing it myself - I tried doing the hammer test myself and well, I can't be sure, even after watching You-Tube videos of how to check. Not my area of expertise and certainly an area I don't want to misjudge. From a visual inspection, the brass through hole fitting looks to be shot.

I'll start looking for a marine surveyor and from there depending on the results, check out some fiberglass guys, starting with maybe Young's. I am hoping maybe it's just some less expensive fixing, otherwise I might be in a market for a new boat sooner than I thought, yikes!

Thanks again!!!!

Tony D.

 

[Finest Kind]

Hey guy.. I am feeling a little uneasy about the state of my transom - I can jump on the cavity plate and nothing moves, pretty solid but who would I be able to take my boat to for someone who would have knowledge in this area and would be able to tell me whether or not I should worry?

3 years ago when I had re-powered with a new engine at Somers Point, they said the transom was good. Would a marina like Somers Point be able to help me out (Anyone familiar with Somers Point Marina?) I am looking for someone in N.J., I guess South is where I would have to go ...

Thanks!

Tony D.

Tony, if you jump of the cav plate and nothing moves, you do not have a problem.
And if the transom was good 3 years ago when you repowered, why do you think it's shot now?

Relax and enjoy your Grady, she will take a lot more punishment out there in rough water than you can!

 

[TonyD]

Here is my concern -

 

[DennisG01]

I agree with your line of thinking that you should be concerned. BUT, of course that doesn't mean you currently have a problem. But there's enough evidence there to warrant a concern and be proactive about getting it checked out. Hopefully you will have caught any issues before they are a real issue.

I don't know anything about Sommers Point, but if you're familiar with them (and them with you), give them a call and talk to the service manager. Tell what your thoughts/concerns are and see what they say. If this kind of work is out of their comfort range, ask them to give you some names of companies that can help. If they say they are comfortable with this work, ask for referrals or documentation of work they've done in the past. Chances are, if they are primarily a mechanic shop, they will not want to dive into this.

Either way, you're going to have to pull some things apart and drill/pop out the brass drain tube to check things out - or, at least, someone will. But if things are solid right now, I would keep boating until the end of your season and then get it checked out. Temporarily shore up any cracks or points of water entry... sealant... even just good tape, for the time being.

 

[SkunkBoat]

If it doesn't flex when you stand on the motor, don't fix it.
I say that from experience. I replaced the transom on my 1984 Wellcraft V20 myself using pourable Carbon Core. It worked out great but after getting into it I believe it really didn't need to be done.
yes there was some wet wood in the corners and where the transducers had been mounted and the aluminum trim was loose but it it wasn't going anywhere.
You can see the project on Youtube/skunkboat look for Transom Repair part1 & part2
My opinion-
remove the motor
remove the trim---THROW IT AWAY!
look in the gap, dig with a blade, get a sense of it. Wet black sawdust? or wet solid wood?
take a few core drillings from the inside to see how far down the wet sawdust goes.
Hammer out the drain tubes and look in there.Clean out loose wood.You can epoxy the drain holes (and motor mount holes!) and redrill them and put in new tubes
If you feel better, glass over the open edge, fair it and paint it. Put the motor back on.

Go fishing!

If you do end up getting the transom done DO NOT let anyone cut the outside skin off. They don't know what they are doing and you might as well throw your boat away.

 

[Fishtales]

if it were me, i'd get it examined and if needed corrected. better to be safe than sorry....

 

[Willy-C]

last fall I was in your shoes with finding bad drain tubes. I removed, replaced and resealed all transom penetrations (main motor and kicker bracket bolts, scupper and splashwell tubes and swim platform hardware) and alum angle trim, and rebedded bilge garboard drain. Finding no wet wood was a huge relief,well worth the trouble to dig in to it. Hope your luck is the same.

 

[Willy-C]

If you do end up getting the transom done DO NOT let anyone cut the outside skin off. They don't know what they are doing and you might as well throw your boat away.

??.......inferior way to repair??

 

[Fishtales]

agree with last post. have them work inside out. They should cut the liner and repair and then reglass the liner. that is how I've seen them done.

 

[Andrew93]

I replaced my drain tubes, I bought the tool and made sure to bed them in real good in 5200. It was not a bad job, I was nervous but the whole process went smooth. My previous '86 Offshore I replaced the drain tubes with the GEM plastic drains in 5200 and I thought the brass tubes went much easier.

If you are concerned do as others said and remove the motor and the cap and inspect/seal the area up. If you had somewhere to hoist the motor from it wouldn't be too bad to leave all the rigging in place and simply lift the motor 6-8" to remove the cap and work, but removing the rigging is not that much of a process either.