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Last week while running my Montauk through 3 foot chop and bouncing hard all the way my transducer and mounting block pulled free from the transom. The block was made of 3/4" Starboard and I used one 1.75" size 10 screw to hold it. I had relied on a liberal coating of 5200 for adhesion. Upon inspection of the failure the 5200 did not stick to the starboard and I was able to easily peel the 5200 from the gelcoat. The screw pulled right out of the transom.
Because I am trying to limit the number of holes in the transom my new method is going to be fill the old hole in the transom with epoxy, coat a 2"x3"x6" piece of wood with West Systems Epoxy (105 resin, 205 hardener) then sand the mounting area on the transom and use the new West Systems G/flex Epoxy from the 650-K kit to affix the block to the transom with no screws. According to the West Systems website "With a modulus of elasticity of 150,000 PSI, it (G/flex Epoxy) is a bit more flexible than standard epoxies and polyester, but much stiffer than adhesive sealants. This gives G/flex the ability to make structural bonds that can absorb the stress of expansion, contraction, shock and vibration."
Hope this works better than the last method. But even if it fails at least there is no additional holes in my transom.
I do have a little experience with epoxy from my model airplane crashes...the longer the cure the better and also mix in some hardwood saw dust with the epoxy and it really makes it strong. I have also used kevlar and fiberglass tape with epoxy thinned by 70% rubbing alcohol. Good Luck...
