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Transom Troubles
jbswhaler	#1  Posted on 12/01/14 - 5:42 PM
Member Posts: 9 Comments: 0 Joined: 07/18/11	Hello everyone, here to get some advice and opinions on addressing an issue with my whaler. First a little history of the boat; its a 1974 Currituck 17' I have owned it only 3 years now and it has seen better days, lots of dings and a few delamination spots but its still a cool boat. However, now it seems to have bigger issues. During winterization I discovered the engine mount bolts seem to have sunk into the transom, not by very much just enough to notice that they have. The transom still seems solid, no flexing or significant cracking anywhere. Pulled one of the mount bolts out the other for closer inspection to find that the wood is slightly "damp" and a pick will stick in the wood pretty easily. I don't see anywhere for water to get in currently but who knows what has happened to the boat over the past 40 some years. Now what, is the question I am asking myself and hopefully some input from someone who has dealt with a similar issue will help me decide.
wing15601	#2  Posted on 12/01/14 - 6:00 PM
Member Posts: 699 Comments: 0 Joined: 07/14/12	First of all I don't think its really catastrophic that your engine mounting bolts may have been made a little too tight and now you have dents. We're it my boat I would get one of those aluminum or stainless steel plates that spread the load and use plenty of bedding compound in the holes and under the washers / spacers / plate. As far as the core of the transom goes, if it's wet then water is getting in there somehow. In any case if you're putting the boat away for the winter, can you remove the engine and leave the holes open to dry out? Maybe put the boat in your garage to keep out water. Oh, the wood you are sticking the pick into inside the hole is end grain plywood so unless you can scrape out rotten wood I don't think you have a rot problem. There are a lot if people on here who know an awful lot about boats so I hope if I've misstated something someone will correct it. I winter in Ft. Myers and summer in St. Joseph, Michigan. It’s now about 12 years since I’ve joined this group. I gave my 1972 whaler to my daughter and sold the 17’. Bought an O’Day 28 sailboat and sailed on Lake Michigan. Yesterday I bought a 2005 130 Sport.
Weatherly	#3  Posted on 12/02/14 - 3:26 AM
Member Posts: 752 Comments: 4 Joined: 12/31/06	JBS: Your Currituck 16 Hull is suffering from water infiltration. The transom wood has gotten wet and swelled, resulting in deformation around the washers/bolts. Let's diagnose your hull condition in greater detail: Where do you have delamination? Have you replaced your through hull brass drain tubes? Was the tube properly sealed? Were the holes for the engine mounting bolts sealed? Do you have any holes in your lower transom area not sealed? Do you have holes in your interior non-skid deck?
jbswhaler	#4  Posted on 12/02/14 - 10:43 AM
Member Posts: 9 Comments: 0 Joined: 07/18/11	The spots of delamination are all up forward by the anchor locker. I have a post on here somewhere about those. But there isn't any water intrusion there, that I have been able to find. I drilled some holes to check for water intrusion and discovered a void in the foam. Haven't gotten around to repairing those yet cause the engine has died as well so I am busy with its rebuild. The drain tubes were replaced by the previous owner and then by me, the old ones looked fine when I pulled them out and I sealed mine up with 4200 along with the engine mount bolts. The only other holes are the transducer which is sealed up with 4200 every season. But the deck is a different story, there are many many holes drilled all over the deck where all sorts of things have been mounted and removed. All of the holes so far have been sealed up with something and a little bit of everything, maybe even chewing gum. I have been trying to drilled them all out and reseal them up good but every time I turn around another one pops up. Also about the pick sticking in the wood, it doesn't just stick if you give it a little push the pick might disappear in the transom. Edited by jbswhaler on 12/02/14 - 10:48 AM
mtown	#5  Posted on 12/02/14 - 1:00 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 610 Comments: 5 Joined: 07/06/08	Depending how far you want to get into this there are several options. I would consider drilling a new hole in the transom choosing a place you would assume to be wet if you had soaked plywood. Like maybe 2" below existing. If that comes out wet then try another location or start sounding the transom with a mallet to see if your ears can tell what your eyes can't. I seriously doubt that the entire transom is wet. My engine mounts were also a little depressed when I repowered a few years ago and the dealer would not install the new motor without me reinforcing it. I used a couple layers of woven roving embedded in epoxy and also filled any holes back there with epoxy resin. I overdrilled a few of the holes to fill and every bit of what came out was bone dry. Unfortunately I did not tell the dealer to mount the motor higher, so I will be doing this in the Spring. That will require drilling new lower holes, and I will get a new sample of the inside of my transom. Boat is a 1964, 16'6". If you find moisture and don't want to rebuild your transom [which would be a huge job] I would consider contacting Progressive Epoxy. The site is so huge it can be intimidating but you can call and the owner answers the phone. Probably his low viscosity epoxy would be good for this as it is very thin, and will set up even when soaking wet. It could be injected into the areas that are wet.
jbswhaler	#6  Posted on 12/18/14 - 7:41 AM
Member Posts: 9 Comments: 0 Joined: 07/18/11	Thanks for the input everyone! I think I will be removing the engine as a first step then from there determine how far the issue extends in the transom, let it dry over the winter as much as possible, then in the spring drill and fill some holes with epoxy and maybe reinforce if needed.
Weatherly	#7  Posted on 12/23/14 - 6:46 AM
Member Posts: 752 Comments: 4 Joined: 12/31/06	JBS: Your plan to let the transom dry out is a good one. You can accelerate the process of drying out the transom area by using a hair dryer or a high watt spot light for a limited period of time. You could fill in your center splashwell drain tube and drill a new one to the side, or both sides of the outboard motor bracket, and, in the process take a core sample to further determine if your have water infiltration. You could also weigh your 16 hull; A 16 foot bare hull should weigh between 500-550 lbs. Your hull will weigh more if there is a significant amount of water infiltration.
jbswhaler	#8  Posted on 01/30/15 - 8:14 AM
Member Posts: 9 Comments: 0 Joined: 07/18/11	Update: The outboard has been removed along with drain tubes and transducers. Bad news is that I found the leak, the new drain tube in the splash well got damaged somehow when the outboard was put on thus allowing water in. The area behind the drain tube was soaked and the wood is pretty much a mush. The worst damage seems to be in between the two drain tubes, water from the top running down, and spread out about a foot from the center. I also noticed the fiberglass seam along the top of the transom has began to separate as well. It's not looking good for my plan of just letting it dry out for awhile. Moral of the story is triple check your drain tubes!
huckelberry145	#9  Posted on 01/30/15 - 8:57 AM
Member Posts: 401 Comments: 3 Joined: 03/10/12	Reference my personal page. I highly recommend Nida Bond transom repair. If i had to do it over again I wouldn't think twice.
doclounz	#10  Posted on 01/30/15 - 9:54 AM
Member Posts: 13 Comments: 0 Joined: 12/29/14	huckelberry145 wrote: Reference my personal page. I highly recommend Nida Bond transom repair. If i had to do it over again I wouldn't think twice. Could you show or explain how you cut the cap off the transom? Ive got a wet transom on a 13 sport... Thx
gchuba	#11  Posted on 01/30/15 - 11:04 AM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	I cannot speak for Huck but I have been cutting into areas of my Whaler with the multi tool with one of the cutting blades. When possible I clamp a straight edge about the thickness off a yardstick to at as a scribe. Generally the muli tool is not so aggressive I can follow a line pretty cleanly. I also have my shop vac follow the dust. Good luck if you go that route. Garris
doclounz	#12  Posted on 01/30/15 - 11:12 AM
Member Posts: 13 Comments: 0 Joined: 12/29/14	So scribe a line say 1/4" in on top to allow for the thickness of the glass/gelcoat? (or how thick is it generally?)
huckelberry145	#13  Posted on 01/30/15 - 11:23 AM
Member Posts: 401 Comments: 3 Joined: 03/10/12	doclounz wrote: huckelberry145 wrote: Reference my personal page. I highly recommend Nida Bond transom repair. If i had to do it over again I wouldn't think twice. Could you show or explain how you cut the cap off the transom? Ive got a wet transom on a 13 sport... Thx Doc, I used an angle grinder to cut the top cap off. I just turned it on end and used the edge of the wheel to cut the glass. Made a HUGE mess. Do this part outside. Also, if I had to use Nida Bond again, I would screw a sheet of plywood to the area of the transom being filled. The weight of the product made a slight bulge toward the top in mine.
gchuba	#14  Posted on 01/30/15 - 11:27 AM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	I can only speak for a 22' 1979 Revenge (AKA Outrage). I had a deep chip that looked like wood starting about a heavy 1/8th inch down. Working on other interior parts of the boat I was amazed of the thinness off gel coating for such a sturdy surface. If it were my boat I would not assume the worst of the entire transom. If you have exterior gel coat damage by the rotted tube areas, I would gut out that area and see just how far the the damage extends. Garris Edited by gchuba on 01/30/15 - 11:31 AM
doclounz	#15  Posted on 01/30/15 - 11:51 AM
Member Posts: 13 Comments: 0 Joined: 12/29/14	I actually have no indication of any damage exteriorly. Just bought the boat and drilled the new holes for the motor....damp wood. So I drilled some pilot holes from the outside and down thru the cap a good 10 inches there. Damp to that depth, some black color but still appears to be "wood." Ive been IR heating it and damp-rid'ing it now for about 2 weeks. Its definitely drier. Not sure I want to go all out yet. Im only putting a 25 on it and its not going to be used for any high stress activities.
gchuba	#16  Posted on 01/30/15 - 12:25 PM
Member Posts: 1675 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/31/13	You can also put on an aluminum plate in interior of the transom that matches the bolt pattern. Spread the bearing load. Garris
mtown	#17  Posted on 01/30/15 - 1:58 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 610 Comments: 5 Joined: 07/06/08	Good that you found the problem area. I would still recommend what I suggested before about low vis epoxy. I am sure many places sell something similar to my recommendation. I have no affiliation with the site or owner, just good experiences. My 1964 16' has had a total delam problem. The fault is me and previous owner neglect, bad repairs ect. I am going to try to post pics as it is pretty [not] epic in scope. Not transom related.