Help!

[Craig Allen]

I just boat this boat and already the transom cracked. It's right inbetween the kicker and the main motor. Is thier any way to salvage this or am I screwed?!?

[rustyrat]

It can be repaired. Take it to a professional.

RR

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[YodaMage]

Anything can be fixed...but the questions of interest are:

 

-What kind of boat?

-What year is it?

-Why did it crack?

 

that is not IMHO cosmetic in the least, and the corner of the cutout scares me. Is the transom soft? Water penetration? Did you moisture test it at all before buying it? 

 

Those boats with the metal cap over the transom are notorious for rot.

[Craig Allen]

It's a 1970 Thompson and I have no idea why it cracked. The boat took a little water in on ruff days but judging by the crack I am imagining that the transom may be soft. It was kinda a impulse by and I'm starting to learn the break out another thousand ritual. I was thinking about getting the gel and resin and putting a plate over it but I don't wana run into these problems again.

[rw6788]

Thompson's were noted to have cracked transoms

[Don Supon]

I would ckeck the wood for firmness. If soft (it appears so), then a complete replacement would be the only way to fix it right.

[John E Powell]

There is a very high likelihood that the transom wood is shot and needs to be replaced. It is the structure of your transom. Think of the fiberglass is a protective coating for the wood. Covering up the crack as you describe will not make your boat safe to use if the wood is rotten.

[rolmops]

This is a job you can do by yourself for about $300 everything included. It is not hard but it takes a bit of patience and a willingness to do something new. you can either rebuild it out of wood or pour a new transom into the space that the old one occupies now. In both cases you will have to remove the old transom first.

The one thing that you do not want is to have your transom break and for you to go down.

Edited June 25, 2013 by rolmops

[muskiedreams]

I agree.  It doesn't look good. Also, It looks like the kicker is mounted on a bracket on the side of the transom. Over time, the weight of the kicker bouncing on the water and on the road may have created weakness in the transom and water may have been leaking in around the mounting bolts for the kicker bracket.  I have an aluminum boat with a 15 hp 4 strole kicker and I had the boat repair shop install a knee brace behind the kicker when I had the transom replaced. I also use a ratchet strap to cinch the whole deal tight toward the transom while I am towing it.

 

I would also suggest that you should have the rest of the boat checked out for structural integrity.  There is probably wood in the structure of the hull and if there are problems there too, it may be very costly to repair.

 

Steve

[YodaMage]

First thing I would do, start about 12" from the crack and drill about 3/16 holes in 2 or 3 spots generally below that point, but only 1/2 way through the thickness of the transom. then I'd take a small screwdriver, a punch or awl and dig around a little to see how soft things were. If I drilled the hole and the bit came out wet or with mush on it I'd already know. If my test failed, I'd keep moving away in 12" increments and repeating, marking transom with a grease pencil as I went. That is the only way I'd feel comfortable as to what was in that thing and how extensive it was. If the damage ended up bigger that 4 sq feet then the transom would have to come off. 

 

If the transom was that bad, I'd also think about ripping out some floor if need be to get a look at a few stringers. If the stringers are also bad on a 1970 Thompson I'd think about parting her out. 

[Chas0218]

Your transom is rotted no doubt about it. And by the looks of it the majority of it shot.

Sent from the awesomeness of Chas!

Edited June 26, 2013 by Chas0218