Sea-Dog
06-04-2007, 08:35 PM
I have made the discovery that my transom needs to be replaced - again. :'(
I was a bit surprised as before I bought the boat (just before Christmas), I swung off the motor etc. and got No movement. I tapped all around where I could reach, and it sounded good. The place where the damage has occurred was all pretty much covered by the engine mount/tilt trim gear.
It's not terribly bad at the moment - no bolt heads pulling in at all, but digging inside the engine mount bolt holes produces some damp fairly soft timber.
A blade screwdriver can be pushed into the timber to a depth of about 8-10mm inside the bolt holes.
If you squeeze some scrapings between finger and thumb, from inside the bolt holes a drop of water appears. Way too much moisture. :(
This is just an old cheapie second-hand 4.5M glass half cab of early 80's vintage.
Someone has previously done a partial replacement on the transom.
I discovered this by removing bog from the outside surface of the transom to find some joins in the glass where approximately one-half of the previous transom has been replaced (from the outside).
Why bog? To cover up crappy work I suppose. The bog looked crappy too.
I reckon it was a real shoddy job, because the new central bit has rotted, whilst the original bit still remains solid.
I didn't think you could successfully replace only part of a transom. It looks like I'm right in this instance.
Anyhow the boat sat a bit low in the bum, courtesy of a heavy old 115HP V4 Evinrude, dual batteries and portable tanks all sitting at the rear end.
Add the weight of a person or two who walk to the rear of the boat to fish, and she can take a bit of slop over the back and into the splash well.
No harm, of course, but I'd prefer to have a bit more freeboard on the bum.
The current transom height is about 510mm (20.5")
Are there any dramas with building a taller transom, to bring it to the height of 635mm (25" - extra long)
The extra hundred and twenty five millimetres would probably make a big difference to any slop coming over the back. The height of the gunwales is approx 700mm from the chines. So that is sufficient height I'd reckon.
I have to get a new motor anyway so I suppose the extra price for the extra long over the long isn't going to be that much of a killer.
I still have to investigate the condition of the stringers - I suspect they're OK.
If I did have to replace the stringers, I suppose that I could install a centrally mounted fuel tank to move a bit of weight off the rear.
I could also probably relocate the batteries forward, but this is far from a preferred option.
(I wish I could ask a quick question without writing "War & Peace")
So, has anyone raised the height of their transom on a glass boat?
Any problems?
Cheers, Ross (Sea-Dog)
I was a bit surprised as before I bought the boat (just before Christmas), I swung off the motor etc. and got No movement. I tapped all around where I could reach, and it sounded good. The place where the damage has occurred was all pretty much covered by the engine mount/tilt trim gear.
It's not terribly bad at the moment - no bolt heads pulling in at all, but digging inside the engine mount bolt holes produces some damp fairly soft timber.
A blade screwdriver can be pushed into the timber to a depth of about 8-10mm inside the bolt holes.
If you squeeze some scrapings between finger and thumb, from inside the bolt holes a drop of water appears. Way too much moisture. :(
This is just an old cheapie second-hand 4.5M glass half cab of early 80's vintage.
Someone has previously done a partial replacement on the transom.
I discovered this by removing bog from the outside surface of the transom to find some joins in the glass where approximately one-half of the previous transom has been replaced (from the outside).
Why bog? To cover up crappy work I suppose. The bog looked crappy too.
I reckon it was a real shoddy job, because the new central bit has rotted, whilst the original bit still remains solid.
I didn't think you could successfully replace only part of a transom. It looks like I'm right in this instance.
Anyhow the boat sat a bit low in the bum, courtesy of a heavy old 115HP V4 Evinrude, dual batteries and portable tanks all sitting at the rear end.
Add the weight of a person or two who walk to the rear of the boat to fish, and she can take a bit of slop over the back and into the splash well.
No harm, of course, but I'd prefer to have a bit more freeboard on the bum.
The current transom height is about 510mm (20.5")
Are there any dramas with building a taller transom, to bring it to the height of 635mm (25" - extra long)
The extra hundred and twenty five millimetres would probably make a big difference to any slop coming over the back. The height of the gunwales is approx 700mm from the chines. So that is sufficient height I'd reckon.
I have to get a new motor anyway so I suppose the extra price for the extra long over the long isn't going to be that much of a killer.
I still have to investigate the condition of the stringers - I suspect they're OK.
If I did have to replace the stringers, I suppose that I could install a centrally mounted fuel tank to move a bit of weight off the rear.
I could also probably relocate the batteries forward, but this is far from a preferred option.
(I wish I could ask a quick question without writing "War & Peace")
So, has anyone raised the height of their transom on a glass boat?
Any problems?
Cheers, Ross (Sea-Dog)