Transom Rot or Not?

Quick Question do you guys with the soft transoms and stringers typically leave your boats in the water all season? And You probably have a much longer season then us up her in Northern MI.

Out of all the boats I have owned I may have been ignorant, lucky or had a boat that was never moored because I have not came accross this problem yet? And I can only afford 20 + year old boats. Knock on wood. I'm in the process of buying an 87 270 today and I am going to do a super check on that stuff thanks to this forum and Underwater's comments/pics. The boat I am buying the guy has on trailer and does what i do drags it to the marina few miles a way and drops in for the day/weekend....


i hope I don't have to come on here in the near future and post pics of my big repair job. If I do I hope it is in the fall/winter months
 
Getaway said:
Yeah, I just used 5200 everything too. If I ever have to get it back apart, I'll deal with it then:thumbsup:.
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Dealing with 5200 has to be easier than replacing a transom and stringers... :)
 
I'm in Michigan and my boat was only a fresh water boat from Muskegon area. It sat in the water during the summer months, but was pulled and stored inside during the winters. She still had lots of water intrusion.

The 270's are great boats. You get the style of the 268's with a 10ft beam.

Check the transom and stringers good from the inside engine room area. Push on that transom with a screwdriver or something sharp and see if it goes through into the core. If you have or can get a moister meter, take it with you.

Good luck.
 
mkultra said:
Quick Question do you guys with the soft transoms and stringers typically leave your boats in the water all season? And You probably have a much longer season then us up her in Northern MI.

Out of all the boats I have owned I may have been ignorant, lucky or had a boat that was never moored because I have not came accross this problem yet? And I can only afford 20 + year old boats. Knock on wood. I'm in the process of buying an 87 270 today and I am going to do a super check on that stuff thanks to this forum and Underwater's comments/pics. The boat I am buying the guy has on trailer and does what i do drags it to the marina few miles a way and drops in for the day/weekend....


i hope I don't have to come on here in the near future and post pics of my big repair job. If I do I hope it is in the fall/winter months
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In addition to Getaway's suggestions, I cannot stress enough how valuable a survey by a professional is. They aren't cheap, but if the price of a survey is prohibitive, the cost of transom/stringer work will be exponentially worse. Hope the one you're looking at is a gem! :)
 
Getaway said:
Not so much the gimbal area as it is the swim platform, trim tabs, transducers and speed indicator. Back when our boats were built, they simply did not have good sealants for these transome mounted items. Swim platforms are probably the worst contributors. If your boat is still in good shape, I would remove everything that is mounted to the transom and reseal everything with either 4200 or 5200 3M sealant.
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I will reseal the trim tabs, speedometer pickup and swim platform. Is the proper method to fill the screw holes with the 5200 sealer with enough on the contact surface so it oozes out when the screws are tightened, then wipe off the excess?
 
Personally, I injected it into the hole, then coated the screw with it, then tightened it. Wiping the excess once it oozed out, but let me warn you, have LOTS of paper shop towels to clean it up....it's a mess, but it'll be water tight!
 
Yup. that is ok. Make sure plenty of the 5200 comes out around the screw head and fills the hole completely.

A better method is to drill the screw holes out oversize, fill the holes with epoxy, then drill into the epoxy for the mounting screws and seal that with 5200. This method puts a core of epoxy into the transom for the screw mounts. If water ever gets past the screw head, it only makes it to the epoxy core and never into the wood.

The swim platform should actually be through bolted into the transom through an epoxy cored hole, then sealed with 5200.

My swim platform is held on the transom with 1/4" ss bolts. I drilled 1/2" holes through the transom, filled those holes with thickened 105/205 West Systems epoxy, then drilled 1/4" holes back through the epoxy plugs. Then, I sealed the bolts with 5200 and through bolted the swim platform to the back of the boat. Now, if a leak occurs, the water will run through the epoxy core, into the engine compartment where I will see it right away. No water will get into my new wood transom.

West systems has a $6.00 book that I bought at West Marine. It shows how to mount hardware. Well worth the money to read up on it and learn how to use these material available to us.
 
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I agree with Bob about the West Systems book at West Marine. Has a lot of good info about making repairs and using West System products, this book along with all the info on a couple of web sites have helped me a lot during my rebuild process.
 
I will pick up a copy of the book at West Marine next time I get over there. Thanks for the tips! I just want to keep my boat dry and rot free.
 
Here is my progress this weekend. Slow going...

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The bulkhead below the fuel tank was completely full of water... old smelly water. Also, the water was trapped undet the center motor mounting area. Not understanding why Sea Ray would not have left a drain from the fuel bulkhead all the way to the the bilge pump area. Without it, the water had been trapped for years rotting the wood due to poor draining.

Question: Why can't I put a drain all the way from the fuel bulkhead to the drain? Makes no sense to me why they (Sea Ray) didn't drain the bulkheads and string areas properly.


Too Funny: While ripping up the fuel bulkhead, I found a 26 year old 1/2 paddle drill bit. All rusted out, but it proves someone was there before me. :)
 
Question: Why can't I put a drain all the way from the fuel bulkhead to the drain? Makes no sense to me why they (Sea Ray) didn't drain the bulkheads and string areas properly.
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Damn good question.....

A simple drain and a decent sealing job would have saved my transom/stringers.

One thing to think about would be to vent your new stringers and drill big drains at the back of them. The only foam I used during my rebuild is under the gas tank support. This helps to support the load of the tank. The stringers that run up the sides are hollow and vented. Look back at my pics and you will see how we did that.
 
If a moisture meter showed 26% on a transom but the transom is solid per the hammer test, is that enough to cause rot? Would resealing everything with 5200 be enough to stop the core from rotting? In theory, the moisture content wouldn't get higher than 26% correct?
 
ummmmm, well, 26% is getting up there. If water stays there, it will cause rot eventually. How long it will take is another question that is hard to answer.

If it were me, I would wait until this winter, grab a 2" hole saw and drill through the glass in various areas inside the boat around the high percentage areas. Let it sit all winter with heat on the high moisture areas and let her dry out as best you can. Then, 32grit around the holes and glass it back together. We opened my forward areas up and she dried out pretty well.
 
If I'm reading this right, I don't think sealing the transom with moisture in there is a good idea at all. (I know KC isn't suggesting otherwise)

I've come to accept the fact that sooner or later, all of the classics will need a transom and possibly stringers. I figure that once it's done like KC did his, you've got a better than new boat that will last a LONG time.
 
Hello All,

It has been way too long with little or no progress made. The Captain has stated that the project boat, aka Tree House, goes in the water this year or I need to part it out. I did not touch it last year and really shut down after finding out the stringers and bulkheads also need replacing.

I contacted a local fiberglass shop to replace the rear stringers and bulkheads and seems no one really does that kind of work anymore. I have asked around and it is clear that it is a DIY job due to the cost of labor. The local shop that I spoke with was encourageing me to just jump in again and get it done. If I really like the boat, it is worth my time, and if it is the right size for me. The 268 really is for what I want to do. Besides, if I go bigger then I will just end up buying a newer boat or having to replace a transom and/or stringers with my next project.

Does anyone know of a Chicagoland or neighboring state shop that does Transom, Stringer, and Bulkhead replacements. I might also be interested in going with Seacast over Marine Plywood or somethingelse to avoid having to do this again in my lifetime.

Spring is just around the corner for Chicago. 2 Months Out! I need to get moving on finding a reliable shop or jumping in and doing the work myself. Too many projects and no time.

James
 
James,
This is a link to a YouTube video diary of a guy in TX that bought a much newer boat than what we have. He winds up needing the transom and stringers completely replaced. It is many videos long and he started with the demolishing and then all the way to the finished product that is so much better than original. Watch this video series and you will be amazed as to how easy it is. And he does it in his driveway and a small garage for his stuff.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kopF4muvF0c&list=PL02C318B574CD948D

I am getting ready to start the same project with my '73 240. http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/64710-1973-SRV-240-Repower-Restoration-Moving-Forward-Again

like you the project sat and now we are going full throttle at it now. We would like her in the water this year but understand that may not happen. We are a little north of you too in Fond Du Lac Wisconsin so the weather has not been kind.
Hope the links help out and check out the videos. Take the time and watch all of them up to the finished product with the boat flying across the water.
Steve
 
wish2fish said:
That's not just any guy! That's our own Frisco Boater!
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I don't know anything about him, but I do owe him a beer for showing us detailed videos of what is a very intimidating job. Pictures are good but video is better!

Truth be told I would love to speak to him for further advice and to get the suppliers for all the material used.
 
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