Fill a hole in a transom

[Dignity]

I wouldn't be scared by that. There is a huge difference between a wet transom and a rotten transom. Yes it's wet but all I'd do from here is make sure that no more water gets in. What is already in there will have to stay in there. It is nearly impossible to dry it out or otherwise remove it.

I agree, it is far from rotten, if it was dark then it's rotten. If the transom sounds solid above that point then sealing it well so as no air gets to it, no further deterioration will occur. The thing is to see if water is penetrating form further above.

[inveratta]

drilling is only a partial diagnostic you are sampling a very small area with each hole.....dead noises on tapping in other areas as well ..not so good.....I said "probably going to morph"...its all ambiguous enough that someone takes a good look at it now...but then again people make interesting decisions..I cant think the original owner drilled that hole and left it ...it was more likely the engine fitter who knew his mistake would not be discovered for many years....I dont believe its possible to give definitive ..you should do this and it will be ok.......it needs to be explored further.Hopefully its not that bad...but I wouldnt be betting on it at this stage.

[gazza2006au]

No doubt there is water in there, do you or don't you is the question to ask now

A basic transom will cost about $3,000 and about $500-$1,000 if you do the work

Anyone who has removed dry plywood from a transom will know exactly how strong plywood is as a transom, if i were to do atransom on another boat it will be plywood and hang a ton of ponies off it

[CT]

There's a long way between wet and this. When it gets to this, you should start to see structural crack. Are the washers on the outboard mounting bolts starting to pull into the transom? If no cracks and no sunken bolts, glass the hole up and go fishing!

[garfield28]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm prepared with the guidance of you who know what you are talking about to rebuild the transom. I have worried about it for a while if I am honest. There used to always be a fair bit of water in the back from the washwell drains that would spill inside the other side of the transom from the washwell drains. Most times I'd have to start my bilge to pull the water out, and there would be a fair bit. I'm pretty concerned about the stringers too now that I've removed my fuel tank. I'll see if I can get a pic tomorrow but there is what looks like a middle stringer that runs from the end of the fuel tank to the transom and the one side is lower than the other and there is a hole drilled through it to allow water from the high side to drain to the lower side. I put my finger in there this afternoon and I believe I can feel rotted wood. There is always a stain rusted look from the bung too.

After today I have a feeling the top of transom that is mainly above the water line is moist but not rotted. Below is a bit of both more than likely. The hole I drilled below the waterline today felt fairly wet and the moisture could be seen on my hands when I squeezed it. As stated the boat has not been in the water for roughly 9 months. Also, there is what appears to be either stress fractures or spider cracks on either side of the washwell that sits above the transom. I will also take pics of the bolts that held the motor because I believe there is an indentation of the bolts.

My main concern in doing my transom is that it is so different to most others and it's hard to get advice when I imagine that most if not none would have never done a transom like it. IMG_20210130_173943_01.jpegIMG20210124184433.jpgIMG20210124184419.jpgIMG20210117180251.jpg

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[ranmar850]

The pic on the left just looks like good ply. The one on the right is obviously soaked, and, as CT says, there is a difference between wet and rot. Real rot generally goes dark with the process.I wouldn't be diving into a transom rebuild on the strength of that just yet. I'd just seal it up really well, using the methods outlined above. To clarify, there are two types of sealing--not just effective/ineffective , although that certainly comes into it These people who drill holes through glass into timber then "seal" it with silicon Boat killers. To seal timber in a transom from water ingress, yes, let the immediate area dry, clean it out then thoroughly fill with a resin product. To seal a hole through a hull, yes, you use Sikalflex. But the hole itself, if it goes through timber inside glass, should first be drilled oversize, the inside surface thoroughly sealed with resin, then carefully redrilled for the bolt, and then you seal the bolt itself with sika.
I'm currently helping a mate instal a TM 265 on his 2300 Caribbean. Caribbean's don't have full-width wood on the transoms, which is brilliant, as you can often just drill through plain glass to mount stuff. But not in this case. We have to fit to the resin-encased timber part. So we have drilled, after marking carefully, 12mm holes, filled the holes with 24 hour Araldite, and driven in hardwood dowels, after coating them for good measure. So we have , effectively, pockets for the screws to go into, isolated from the rest of the transom. You can do this with various kinds of resin by just filling the large holes with resin, then drilling the resin when it hardens, but I feel there is a chance of breaking the resin plug loose doing it this way.
To those who question the use of 24 hour ( super strength) araldite in this application, I lean on the experience of an shipwright, who cut his teeth on timber boats, before moving to building fibreglass , and he says it is simply about the best resin in this application.

[garfield28]

I'm not sure the the water ingress down the back of the transom is only coming from the washwell drains. I'm thinking of drilling a few more holes to try and better guess what I should do and see if I come across more moisture and or rot... Would that be ok ?

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[ranmar850]

You can, just be sure to seal them up properly afterwards, using the methods described above.

[garfield28]

Hi guys, so a mate of mine who is pretty switched on with boats came over on the weekend and agreed with you guys on here that the transom is definitely wet but he believes it is still strong and not a rot issue at the moment. I drilled a few more holes around to check other areas and most holes were moist and it did stink also. He recommended I let the holes dry out and then add some wood hardener. I was going to plug the holes with some dowels and epoxy as suggested above.

Just wondering what you guys think? Also if I let the holes dry, for how long and could I just pour the hardener into the holes that are drilled or is there a proper method I should follow to do it?

Thanks
Geoff

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[gazza2006au]

See if u can get a bucket of Sea Cast it would be the easiest method of repairing your transom

Just cut the cap, hog it out, tape up holes, pour, glass over and it will never rot again

Plywood transoms are usually recommended but your transom is so small u could quiet easily use the seacast

[CT]

Hi guys, so a mate of mine who is pretty switched on with boats came over on the weekend and agreed with you guys on here that the transom is definitely wet but he believes it is still strong and not a rot issue at the moment. I drilled a few more holes around to check other areas and most holes were moist and it did stink also. He recommended I let the holes dry out and then add some wood hardener. I was going to plug the holes with some dowels and epoxy as suggested above.

Just wondering what you guys think? Also if I let the holes dry, for how long and could I just pour the hardener into the holes that are drilled or is there a proper method I should follow to do it?

Thanks
Geoff

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I used bote cote epoxy and they have a penetrating agent that is supposed to help the epoxy get carried into the timber. From memory its TRPDA. I found them excellent to deal with on the phone so would give them a call and discuss. You can hook a vacuum pump to the hole as well and try and draw out moisture prior to treating.

[CT]

See if u can get a bucket of Sea Cast it would be the easiest method of repairing your transom

Just cut the cap, hog it out, tape up holes, pour, glass over and it will never rot again

Plywood transoms are usually recommended but your transom is so small u could quiet easily use the seacast

I don't believe that you need to go to these lengths at this point.

[garfield28]

The holes were drilled just over a week ago, do you think they would be ok to treat now - or do they need to be super dry? Keep in mnd the boat hasn't been in the water for about 9 months either.

Also, how long would I need to wait after treating the wood before I can plug them and epoxy?

Thanks men

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[ericcs]

wonder if warming the transom with a heat gun would help drying it out while the holes are still open?

[garfield28]

Also men the holes are obviously vertical, so can I pour the mixture into the holes the way they are, or do I need to drill from the top a few long holes and pour it in there ? I'd really prefer not to have to but I have no idea so will take the advice of those thy have some it before or know how it is best done.


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