Opinions wanted

[Flying_Lavey]

I posted this in the outboard church thread but it has gotten no traction so.... over here it comes.



I want to get some of your guys' opinions on a transom issue on my brother's new-to-him boat.

The transom isn't good on it. We knew that when we went to check it out. After further inspection, it appears to be a little worse for wear. I don't have any pictures of it right now, but wanted to see what you all thought about essentially making the wood transom a floating piece? The boat has large aluminum knees, or kickers (whatever you want to call them) to the stringers right now. The stringers are wider than the set-back bracket mounting bolts. He are I were thinking of doing either a steel or aluminum plate between the kickers that the set-back bracket mounting bolts can through bolt to. Maybe even use a spacer sleave slightly shorter than the thickness of the original wood transom to really make the transom a floating component. He is taking out a bunch of stereo equipment so this should be a relatively minor net-weight change. Also, its just holding up a 2.4L 200 so its not like a modern 500+ lbs motor.

The boat is a open bow 21' Bahner btw.

 

[DRYHEAT]

I think it could be done although not ideal, but it would help distribute the load and spread it out before you do a proper repair or take the boat to the dump.

 

[ChrisV]

 

[SJP]

View attachment 1427602

Did you add those to your boat?

 

[ChrisV]

Did you add those to your boat?

Yeah the Liberty I built awhile back.

 

[Ziggy]

I posted this in the outboard church thread but it has gotten no traction so.... over here it comes.



I want to get some of your guys' opinions on a transom issue on my brother's new-to-him boat.

The transom isn't good on it. We knew that when we went to check it out. After further inspection, it appears to be a little worse for wear. I don't have any pictures of it right now, but wanted to see what you all thought about essentially making the wood transom a floating piece? The boat has large aluminum knees, or kickers (whatever you want to call them) to the stringers right now. The stringers are wider than the set-back bracket mounting bolts. He are I were thinking of doing either a steel or aluminum plate between the kickers that the set-back bracket mounting bolts can through bolt to. Maybe even use a spacer sleave slightly shorter than the thickness of the original wood transom to really make the transom a floating component. He is taking out a bunch of stereo equipment so this should be a relatively minor net-weight change. Also, its just holding up a 2.4L 200 so its not like a modern 500+ lbs motor.

The boat is a open bow 21' Bahner btw.

Did a similar thing to my sons little 16'er w/100hp merc. Worked great, no more transom flex.

 

[RiverDave]

I posted this in the outboard church thread but it has gotten no traction so.... over here it comes.



I want to get some of your guys' opinions on a transom issue on my brother's new-to-him boat.

The transom isn't good on it. We knew that when we went to check it out. After further inspection, it appears to be a little worse for wear. I don't have any pictures of it right now, but wanted to see what you all thought about essentially making the wood transom a floating piece? The boat has large aluminum knees, or kickers (whatever you want to call them) to the stringers right now. The stringers are wider than the set-back bracket mounting bolts. He are I were thinking of doing either a steel or aluminum plate between the kickers that the set-back bracket mounting bolts can through bolt to. Maybe even use a spacer sleave slightly shorter than the thickness of the original wood transom to really make the transom a floating component. He is taking out a bunch of stereo equipment so this should be a relatively minor net-weight change. Also, its just holding up a 2.4L 200 so its not like a modern 500+ lbs motor.

The boat is a open bow 21' Bahner btw.

If it is rotted and you are dead set on not replacing it they make a system where you can drill holes and more or less inject epoxy to fill the voids to make it a solid piece again..

I wouldn’t do it, but I have seen it and it works. After that sandwich it and it will be fine for as long as he owns it

 

[Flying_Lavey]

If it is rotted and you are dead set on not replacing it they make a system where you can drill holes and more or less inject epoxy to fill the voids to make it a solid piece again..

I wouldn’t do it, but I have seen it and it works. After that sandwich it and it will be fine for as long as he owns it

We talked about that stuff. My concern would be that the fiberglass is already bowed in 2 different directions so I would hate to do that and then it fucks up the fiberglass shape.

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Like this?

 

[pixrthis]

Kind of hard to get an opinion around here.

 

[coolchange]

Doing a transom is not expensive but a lot of work. You know that. Time of year, do it right. It’s not about the job, but more the person(s) doing it.
Plus you’ve already documented it will have a MM transom in it. Document that it was done right.

 

[C-Ya]

Would a floatation bracket work?

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Doing a transom is not expensive but a lot of work. You know that. Time of year, do it right. It’s not about the job, but more the person(s) doing it.
Plus you’ve already documented it will have a MM transom in it. Document that it was done right.

Yeah, one of the biggest reasons to avoid doing the wood work cause I'm not sure how confident my brother is with fiberglass. Plus there is still time in the season. lol!

 

[ChrisV]

Yeah, one of the biggest reasons to avoid doing the wood work cause I'm not sure how confident my brother is with fiberglass. Plus there is still time in the season. lol!

I had no confidence in doing mine. Just do it.

 

[lbhsbz]

Fix it right.

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

Yeah, one of the biggest reasons to avoid doing the wood work cause I'm not sure how confident my brother is with fiberglass. Plus there is still time in the season. lol!

Go search the thread from headless hula he has a great transom rebuild thread

 

[TimeBandit]

Winter is almost here.

fix it right. West Systems epoxy for the win.

 

[OCMerrill]

My transom is toast in my '91 Sebring.

If these boats had some decent value I would replace it but they don't so there it sits until I can de-rig it. Then we will let the Night of Destruction at Perris Raceway do it in.

 

[Willie B]

Winter is almost here.

fix it right. West Systems epoxy for the win.

… this is absolutely the way to do it… Call Gougian Brothers in Detroit Michigan… The manufactures of West Systems… they will tell you step-by-step how to do it

 

[ChrisV]

1986 Eliminator Liberty rebuild...

Hey guys, need to delete my pics on my phone of my Liberty. Might as well put them in here. Bought this boat last year on July 18 and used it almost every weekend till Thanksgiving weekend. Bought the boat with a Johnson 200 and it was decently quick in the beginning. This is my first boat so...

www.riverdavesplace.com

Just do it…

 

[coolchange]

Yeah, one of the biggest reasons to avoid doing the wood work cause I'm not sure how confident my brother is with fiberglass. Plus there is still time in the season. lol!

Fiberglass is not a talent. It’s a skill. Follow directions. Be methodical.
It’s more about the person than the project. Are you goal oriented. Easily discouraged. Not a self starter.
Is the boat in Simi?

 

[Flying_Lavey]

A little more re-iteration and clarification..... this is my BROTHER's boat. Not mine. I am trying to help him where I can. He got the boat for a song. Essentially he got a 21' boat for the price of a good 2.4L Black Max. I don't want to push him into a large repair since it is his 1st boat and he really doesnt have the time to get deep into it. Plus, it needs other small stuff too. It would end up being disheartening for my sister-in-law and strain the family a bit since they have a 10 month old and other stuff going on. A new wood transom is just not really in the cards at this time.

The metal solves the issues, gets the on the water MUCH faster, allows it to be enjoyable for them, and could get his wife and his in-laws set into boating more so if its not something that needs constant work.

I just need opinions on if the metal bracing would do what I think it would (sounds like it absolutely will), and if there are any pointers or suggestions for its design or execution.

 

[Backlash]

@Flying_Lavey the metal bracing idea you mentioned will work, but just know it's a bandaid terporarily covering a much larger problem. It's a structural problem that will have to be addressed sooner than later. Replacing a transom yourself isn't a hard job and would be easy for you guys to complete. It really isn't that expensive either; the greatest cost will be in the actual resin and cloth. Then, after you replaced the core of the transom, you could install the bracing you mentioned over your new work. Then that new transom would be bulletproof and they wouldn't have to worry about costlier repairs down the road.

 

[coolchange]

Your point of sleeves is on point. If you’re going to go this route you need to take the transom out of the equation completely. On a clamp on the transom control the boat. You’re making it like a jet boat transom that just keeps the water out.