2006 185 Sport Gelcoat cracks - transom

[Alaspan]

My first post on the forum after purchasing my SR 185 Sport with wake tower last summer (85 hours!).<br>
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The interior of the boat is immaculate and the engine clearly has low hours on it and I know the previous owner, however, I am at a loss as to whether or not I should repair these gelcoat cracks that are on the transom?<br>
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A local repair guy described it as "these are 100% stress cracks and will reoccur again if not fixed correctly. These cracks have occurred because the plywood in the transom is wet and froze or at some point a engine or motor beyond the power rating or weight was used on the transom. Each crack needs to be grinded out to a 1/8 inch thick crack and filled it. I appreciate from your perspective they appear as minor spider cracks, but in any case they need to be sealed. So there are two ways to go here. Look inside and you will probably find an issue with the fiberglass around the transom. <br>
Option 1, treat them as minor cracks and get a can of gelcoat and cover them. Guaranty you will be doing them again next year, but that maybe something you want to live with. They appear to be fairly long and you may need a couple of cans, so around $100. Without grinding them you will have a lumpy repair that will show, but better than nothing.<br>
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Option 2, you get someone like me to grind them out and try to color match them and fill them in with high density fiberglass. Note as the boat is oxidized, you may have to wait a couple of years before they sun fade and match 100%. You are looking around $500 taxes included.<br>
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Whatever you decide, do something or you will rot out the transom before too long and then you will be into some expensive repairs."<br>
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Naturally I am concerned, but also don't want to unnecessarily put money into this repair if unnecessary. I cannot catch my nail on these cracks with the exception of one, but barely so at that.<br>
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I've tried uploading a few photos, but got red exclamation marks... I wasn't aware Sea Ray used wood in the transom?<br>
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Thanks,<br>
Dave

 

[BillK2632]

True stress cracks in gelcoat occur because gelcoat is a brittle material that does not flex. Anytime the underlying structure flexs, it will eventually cause the gelcoat to crack. You usually see this in corners and other places where there is a tight radius, like a transom corner. Generally speaking stress cracks are cosmetic, unless they continue to get bigger they don't necessarily have to be fixed. My 185 has a couple on the corners in the transom where the recess for the outdrive is - been there since I bought the boat 10yrs ago. Yours look pretty long, so something is or has definitely flexed in that area. A larger picture that shows the drive and any other hardware in relation to the cracks would be helpful.

- Are they new?
- Any cracking on the inside of that area?
- Does the boat stay in the water much or stored on a trailer?
- Anything installed on the transom that would allow water intrusion (transducer etc)?
- If you have a rotted transom like the repair person said, that is bad, you have a little more work to do than just some gelcoat repair. If you suspect a wet transom, I would pick a couple of spots around those cracks and drill some small holes to check for a wet coring - if it is rotted, it will be evident. You can also tap with a mallet listening for dead sounding spots, but that's not conclusive. Pretty sure there is wood in the transom construction of these boats - I know there is in my 1999 185. I would call SeaRay and try to get some specifics though before I started any type of repair. The most likely place for water intrusion is around the outdrive transom assembly or a piece of hardware (transducer) that was not sealed properly when it was installed.

Call SeaRay, it's worth a call to them before you do any type of repair. At least get their advice and if so inclined, they are better prepared than anyone to make any repairs.

 

[thegotoguyr]

I agree with BillK, and those are good questions.I would not consider those to be minor spider cracks, something is amiss. What is that dark streak shown in the bottom picture? I thought it was a transom strap at first but upon a closer look it seems to be in the fiberglass also.

 

[Gary Hill]

"These cracks have occurred because the plywood in the transom is wet"

IMHO, you need to start with a moisture meter. If the plywood is wet you need to get to the bottom of the water ingestion. Just fixing the cracks is not the answer here.

 

[El Capitan]

Listen to your local repair guy. He is correct. There is nothing "cosmetic" about those cracks. Given their location it's a sign of underlying structure issues. Fix now or pay later c