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I just discovered many stress cracks on the transom of my 1999 18' Dauntless. It was originally from New Jersey but has been on Lake Erie for several years. It has an Opti 135 on it. The facility where it is stored for the winter thinks the cracks were the result of the boat being overpowered. I just bought it last spring , did not have it surveyed & missed the cracks because they were under the bottom paint. Anybody have a similar problem?

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Why is it a problem? I don" believe 135 HP is overpowered on a 1999 Dauntless 18.

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The Dauntless 18' has a max hp rating of 150.
So, it is not overpowered.

Any photos?

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X2

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I have some gelcoat crack in mine up on either side of the engine where the transom molds into the rest of the engine well. I haven't seen any other cracks in mine. The cracks ore very thin( spider cracks) . I also have the 135 and don't think it is" over powered" my wot top speed is 43 mph I wish I had the 150 although the 135 and 150 are the same displacement. Sorry got of track there.

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This statement leads me to believe the cracks are at or below the water line - It will be interesting to see what the pictures show if Short Circuit can get them for us.

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I have a few pics. I just have to figure out how to post them.

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Just put a link here to your photos wherever you have them like photobucket, etc.

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I'm struggling to get pictures posted. I may have to get my grandson involved.

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Ok I think this should work. http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Sho...6/library/

Any comments or suggestions of cause and or repair (if needed) would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Short Circuit

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Thanks for posting the photos.

The gel coat cracks are interesting as they are in locations not typically seen.

They appear to be stress related but it is not clear what caused them. Often, if a piece of hardware (through hull fitting, lifting eye etc) are installed and the fastener holes are not beveled, the gel coat can crack due to stress. This may explain the ones around the through hull.

I would offer the opinion that the boat may have had been damaged by being dropped or bumped while trailered or in a yard. They are not serious but do warrant attention.

To repair hair line cracks, one would gently grind out the crack slightly in a V shape (with a dremel type tool) and refill will gelcoat. It is a DIY depending on your mechanical talent. A yard could repair but it could be $ 500.

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I would have the transom inspected at a fiberglass repair shop and repaired by them if needed.

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What is in the transom? If it is foam, is it possible it lost it's strength and can longer support the outboard?

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Remove the drain where all of the cracking is and you'll find out what's inside. You'll hope the wood is not rotten.

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These are hairline cracks in the gelcoat, I highly doubt the fiberglass embedded wood in the transom is rotten.

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Ok. Sounds like a good place to start. Time permitting, I'll sand off the bottom paint & remove the thru hulls to get a better look. I'll post a few pictures of the transom then.

Would it be worth contacting the factory with the serial number and ask if they have seen this before?

Thanks,
Short Circuit

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I agree with Phil, the "cracks "to the lower right of the engine look like scratches not stress cracks. At first glance the thru hull fitting looks to be leaking water from behind it and may need to be resealed. The other cracks in the first pic look to me to be just into the gelcoat and depending on how picky you are might be worth an attempt at DIY.

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I have a few similar looking cracks on my 16SL, near areas where there are protrusion into/through the hull--e.g. drain tubes, screws for mounting depth sounders--where the fitting was mounted incorrectly without sealant or where the sealant failed and water got into the foam/transom wood. Since I live in an area where it gets very cold in the winter, my theory (totally a SWAG) is that when the entrapped water froze it swelled and caused the cracking from the inside. Sound plausible?

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I agree John. After I discovered my transom was wet, the amount of water in the wood was astounding. How I found out was when I was installing a new depth finder and drilled a hole for the mount, water poured out. I didn't time how long it dripped water but it was enough to be of concern. I immediately removed the drains which acted like they had no sealant on them and inspected the plywood transom. What I'm driving at is where this boat resides there are enough freeze thaw cycles to cause stress cracks around fittings and through hull drains that need to be resealed. If that is the case, hopefully the wood is still good. In my case where the bulk of the water was the wood was solid. Trust me I know, I had to dig it all out. It was the wood near the top that was rotten. Reference my personal page for details.

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I did install a depth sounder in early summer. I noticed a few of the cracks then but didn't think much of it at the time. No water came out when I drilled for the transducer.
I'll pull the drains & sand (or have the yard sand blast) the bottom paint off to get a better look at the whole back end. What did you use to replace the rotted plywood?

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Nida Bond. I like the stuff but it's heavier than plywood. If I remember correctly,plywood weighs 4.7 lbs. a gallon and Nida Bond weighs 7.1. Hopefully you won't have to go this route but after my experience with PVC drain tubes I feel compelled to warn everyone that has them that they will fail. Or at least the sealant will.

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Thanks for the input from all of you. It has given me a direction to start and a lot to think about.

Short Circuit

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My 1990 BW17 Striper had minor gelcoat cracks in the top exterior transom area, just below the weld line. I wetsanded the transom with 500-1500 grit, compounded the area with Matchless 205W, then waxed with mothers carnauba, and the lines are no longer visible.

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I've never heard of Matchless 205W. The extent of my fiberglass expertise stops at Marinetex.
I hope to get to the Whaler next week and sand off the bottom paint. Then have the transom checked with a moisture meter to try and determine the extent of damage. The fiberglass guy at the yard is convinced they are cracks not scratches and were probably the result of the transom not strong enough to support the engine. I should learn a little more by the end of next week.

Short Circuit

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I think it is a dubious assumption that the cracks in your transom gelcoat are structural.

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SC,

Seek another fiberglass guy. The one at the yard lacks knowledge. I agree with Weatherly, there is not yet any reason to assume your gelcoat cracks are structural.

I'm far from a fiberglass or Whaler expert but from my reading here and on CW I've concluded that a moisture meter used on a Whaler has very dubious value. A search on moisture meters here and on the other site may be useful to you.

Take your time and get a few opinions. The season is over for you so you have several months to get this taken care of before you'll want to be on the water again.

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You guys are great. Thanks for all the help. It will definitely be a slow process. Once I get the bottom paint removed it will be easier to see what is going on. I'll do a search on the meters, so I'll have a little knowledge when he checks it. I'll need to get a second opinion before any real work is started. I just don't want the cracks to reappear after I go thru the expense of repairing them.

Short Circuit

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My friend who worked at Boston Whaler Rockland MA factory from 1959-mid 1980's, and has more than 55 years of fiberglass/gelcoat repair experience, says that you can repair gelcoat cracks but the cracks will return after a period of time. Of course, it depends on the depth of the gelcoat cracks. sometimes you can sand out a crack in gelcoat, i.e., like I experienced with my BW17 Striper hull; this is the case if the crack does not go all the way through the gelcoat. Gelcoat thickness can be min 1/16 inch in some areas of the hull to 1/4 inch in the chine areas.

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I have sanded most of the paint off and took more pics. They can be seen at:

http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Sho...ry/Transom

It looks like all of the cracks are originating from holes drilled thru the transom above & below the water line (drains & motor mounting holes). I assume the factory not the dealer would have drilled the holes. Is it possible they just did a crummy job of drilling / sealing these openings which then led to all of these cracks?

Short Circuit

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For any hole drilled, the top should be beveled slightly so it's like a Y. This reduces the force of the screw from cracking the gel coat.

I am a little concerned in seeing the long cracks on the transom. I doubt these were caused by overtightened engine bolts. It could be the transom took a hit (fell off a trailer, landing in the skeg or some type of shock.

Given that they are only in the gel coat, I say route them out a bit (dremel type tool) and fill with gel coat.