Hull Damage

[Nicholas Del Rio]

The transom is an 1 1/2" plywood core with fiberglass on the inside and out. It's summer maybe just use the boat without looking deeper.

Thanks for your help! If I slide my finger around the inside of the the hole, I can feel the smooth tapered wall start to thicken on the top inside of the drain hole. Feels like it’d eventually thicken to that 1.5” thick wall. It feels smooth and hard. Can’t really work a screwdriver up that high at that angle to see if it’s swishy. The rest of the wall around the drain plug is thinner and doesn’t seem to br any plywood just fiberglass.

happy to move onto the cosmetic repairs, but worried that something is brewing and that I could contact the owner at lest to let him known while the purchase is fresh. Especially given that ester shouldn’t be there on the those acre holes

 

[scoflaw]

If water is still dripping from screw hole the plywood is saturated, rotted? who knows.

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

That’s what confusing the heck out of me — I can’t find any plywood? The wall os thin there. Maybe it’s soo rotted that it decomposed and it’s no longer there? Or there was some prior wok done where they removed the lower portion of the transom plywood to fix something? Because the screw tips exit the other side of the wall when they’re all the way in and you can feel the sharp tips exposed from the inside? Sorry, Im sure I’m missing something because I’m confused as to where the plywood is

 

[scoflaw]

Someone has been there, the screws weren't that long originally. Tap around there with a hammer. Does it sound hollow or solid? If I were you I'd dick around with it after the season. Do you see any transom flex if you stand on the lower unit with full weight ?

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

It sounds a little hollow only by the drain plus area. The rest is crisp and solid sounding. No flex when I stand on unit. The whole boat moves though, haha. I weigh 200 lbs.

I do very much appreciate your messages and helping me navigate this. It’s nerve racking considering it’s our first boat and what we paid for it. I know boating is not cheap, but it’s scary when uuube only had the thing for a week, lol.

 

[BillK2632]

You said you could feel the pointed end of the screw from inside the boat? If that is the case then I think the drain plug was removed and not installed properly during the previous repair. The screws should not go all the way through the transom. I think the water you saw was coming from the bilge because the screw was too long and poked through the transom! As far as rot, picture a piece of wood sandwiched between the fiberglass inside and outside of the transom - that wooded core is what could be rotted. It sounds like it is not, if the circumference area of that hole is solid you are ok - I would get some caulking, maybe 4200 and re-install the drain plug caulking the holes good and maybe using a little shorter screw that does not poke all the way through. If the wood is rotted report back, that's another repair! Unfortunately you are dealing with a hack repair - but you caught it and it can be fixed properly.

 

[scoflaw]

Sounds like your good to go. Good luck

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

You said you could feel the pointed end of the screw from inside the boat? If that is the case then I think the drain plug was removed and not installed properly during the previous repair. The screws should not go all the way through the transom. I think the water you saw was coming from the bilge because the screw was too long and poked through the transom! As far as rot, picture a piece of wood sandwiched between the fiberglass inside and outside of the transom - that wooded core is what could be rotted. It sounds like it is not, if the circumference area of that hole is solid you are ok - I would get some caulking, maybe 4200 and re-install the drain plug caulking the holes good and maybe using a little shorter screw that does not poke all the way through. If the wood is rotted report back, that's another repair! Unfortunately you are dealing with a hack repair - but you caught it and it can be fixed properly.

I’ve attached a pic of one of the screws.
I think there might be some rot, now that I know what I’m looking for. What can I do to halt the progression of this problem? Thinking of messaging the seller, but it’s also a 20 year old boat and maybe some wetness/rot is to be expected? I’m sure the repair costs could be astronomical! So sad…

 

[BillK2632]

I would probe the coring around the drain hole and the screw holes. If you find it to be wet, dig out as much as you can (doubt there is much), let it all dry for a few days and then fill it with epoxy. From the pictures, if there is any rot, it is from the screws that were not sealed when they put the drain back in - it appears they DID seal the drain itself. So if there is rot, fix like mentioned and then caulk the hell out of the screw holes and the drain and put it back together - if there is no rot then just caulk and re-install. I know it makes you worry when you think something is wrong and can't really see it -- but really this is not a big deal epoxy, caulk, a small fiberglass repair and you are good - an afternoon or two worth of work. Fix it, put it behind you and enjoy the boat. Yes, a 20yr old boat probably has some rot somewhere, usually something like this or a poor transducer install - it happens.

And like Scoflaw said, if you are up north and don't want to miss out on some summer boating, just caulk the thing up and put it back together, go boating and fix it this winter. Nothing catastrophic is going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

I would probe the coring around the drain hole and the screw holes. If you find it to be wet, dig out as much as you can (doubt there is much), let it all dry for a few days and then fill it with epoxy. From the pictures, if there is any rot, it is from the screws that were not sealed when they put the drain back in - it appears they DID seal the drain itself. So if there is rot, fix like mentioned and then caulk the hell out of the screw holes and the drain and put it back together - if there is no rot then just caulk and re-install. I know it makes you worry when you think something is wrong and can't really see it -- but really this is not a big deal epoxy, caulk, a small fiberglass repair and you are good - an afternoon or two worth of work. Fix it, put it behind you and enjoy the boat. Yes, a 20yr old boat probably has some rot somewhere, usually something like this or a poor transducer install - it happens.

And like Scoflaw said, if you are up north and don't want to miss out on some summer boating, just caulk the thing up and put it back together, go boating and fix it this winter. Nothing catastrophic is going to happen anytime soon.

you all are very kind to help out. I do live up north, so I’m gonna take your advice, repair, and move on. Thanks so much again everyone.

 

[Creekwood]

It sounds like the plywood core around the plug has rotted away completely. Or maybe that damage was more severe than it looks and the back end was not properly fixed.

You should really have someone that knows boats take a look at it. Right now there doesn’t appear to be any wood to screw that plug back on. Just the fibreglass outer skin. And that is not good.

 

[Spark600]

Get a moisture meter and due the whole transm, this will tell the whole story.
You can rent them, They are on amazon.
If you are stiil unsure about it being wet hire a surveyor.

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

It sounds like the plywood core around the plug has rotted away completely. Or maybe that damage was more severe than it looks and the back end was not properly fixed.

how thick should I expect the transom to be by the drain plug?

You should really have someone that knows boats take a look at it. Right now there doesn’t appear to be any wood to screw that plug back on. Just the fibreglass outer skin. And that is not good.

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

It sounds like the plywood core around the plug has rotted away completely. Or maybe that damage was more severe than it looks and the back end was not properly fixed.

You should really have someone that knows boats take a look at it. Right now there doesn’t appear to be any wood to screw that plug back on. Just the fibreglass outer skin. And that is not good.

how thick should the hull/transom be by the plug?

 

[Creekwood]

how thick should the hull/transom be by the plug?

About 1.5 inches including the outside and inside fibreglass.

 

[Golfman25]

Picks are a tad blurry, but it does look like the drain hole is epoxy sealed. The screw holes, if they're weaping, maybe not. Maybe try to poke around with a paper clip to see if the wood is spongy or deteriorated. If the wood is good, maybe try to dry it and seal it with epoxy.

 

[Nater Potater]

how thick should the hull/transom be by the plug?

I have seen transoms where the plywood had a cutout in the drain plug area during the initial hull build so that there's no wood where the hull plug screws go in. I can only assume the thinking was to separate the plywood from the drain plug screws if there was a loss of caulking integrity from the hull plug joint. The fact that the screw you show is only about an inch long yet protruded through to the inside would suggest that's the case. Assuming that's what we have here, my focus would be on the more cosmetic aspects of the original damage, but wait until boating season is over.

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

Picks are a tad blurry, but it does look like the drain hole is epoxy sealed. The screw holes, if they're weaping, maybe not. Maybe try to poke around with a paper clip to see if the wood is spongy or deteriorated. If the wood is good, maybe try to dry it and seal it with epoxy.

Only the lowest screw hole was weeping because it was draining water from the bilge (the damn screws punched all the way through that part is the transom). The other screw holes were dry as a whistle.

 

[Nicholas Del Rio]

I have seen transoms where the plywood had a cutout in the drain plug area during the initial hull build so that there's no wood where the hull plug screws go in. I can only assume the thinking was to separate the plywood from the drain plug screws if there was a loss of caulking integrity from the hull plug joint. The fact that the screw you show is only about an inch long yet protruded through to the inside would suggest that's the case. Assuming that's what we have here, my focus would be on the more cosmetic aspects of the original damage, but wait until boating season is over.

that’s interesting! If I run my fingers along the inside, I can feel a smooth slope that transitions to a MUCH thicker transom above the drain hole area of transom. It appears the transom below this magic transition line is thinner.

Thanks for all the replies folks! Lots of information to consider!

 

[Golfman25]

Only the lowest screw hole was weeping because it was draining water from the bilge (the damn screws punched all the way through that part is the transom). The other screw holes were dry as a whistle.

Ok. That’s good info. Chances are good that you’re good. Clean everything up. Fill the missing gel coat. Install the drain plug with a generous amount of 3m 4200. And enjoy the season.