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The motor is off and I believe that the is a permanent bow in the transom. I set up a jack underneath the the jack plate and as it raised, the boat raised but, the transom stayed rigid. Looks like the 12" jack plate with the 200HO E-tec exaggerated the issue. The bow/curve is now subtle (closer to 3/16"). I also googled pictures of "Whalers with jack plates" and noticed some appeared to have a curve (tough to truly study, just angled photos, none directly overhead). No accompanying reference mentioned in write ups.

I removed the drain tube at the bottom of the transom and the wood is in excellent condition as well the wood for through holes for my trim tabs and electronics, etc.... . I consider this flex a by product of 35 years of a 600lb motor sitting on a transom the nature of an old boat. I do not consider it a problem enough to tear into the transom but it is enough of a concern to reinforce.

I just purchased 3/8" aluminum plate to cover the interior of the transom. The metal supplier had a remnant of 4" x 6" I beam which I am going to scribe and weld in place onto the top of the plate. Will span about 4' along the back. Plating over the transom would have been a cleaner look (thanks Petrus) but the curve made it too difficult to match. I am figuring that though bolting the plate will match the flex and then stiffen the top. In addition. I have some 1/2" aluminum plate which I am cutting to reinforce underneath the jack plate. It will attach to the transom, through bolted to the interior plate (I have an aversion to lag bolting) giving bottom support to the cantilever. I had several old time waterfront fishermen/boat repair folk take a look and say the subtle permanent flex no big deal and to reinforce as is. I will attempt to straighten once everything is off but any drastic measures might do more damage than good.

I am increasing the weight of the transom by about 115lb with the repair aluminum and jack plate. However, I moved my batteries and oil reservoir to the front of the boat. Any feedback would be nice. I have not started fabricating. One of the nice things is I now have an anchor winch and can easily put weight in the bow of the boat with additional chain. Thanks.

Garris