Transom repair?

[zac320]

Hey guys well today on me first voyage on me 1977 savage avenger. I came across a larger cruiser type boat that was stock on rocks, the water was pretty rough and I idled over to where they were as they were screaming out. Tries towing them out but it was so shallow and my boat ended up smashing down on the leg really hard and I've cracked each side of my transom. Plus put a nice chip in my hull from a rock. I don't want to get a new transom as it would be worth more than the boat. It drove fine for the half he trip back except for taking a lil water from where the rock got us. The transoms not loose but it does flex a tiny bit. Your oppinions. I am wanting to get a large 5mm alloy backing plate And cover most of the outside and then do the same on the inside and maybe even attach it to my ski pole on the deck for extra Strength? I'm trying to do this cheaply as a new one would cost thousands.
I have no worries the boat would run fine as it but I'm also sure it's been severely weakened. Thanks

[dreemon]

Very interesting option . . I have a 1978 v 150 naughtiglass , just drilled some holes in the transom and found the timber not as solid as I like,
and like you said bigg dollars for replacement, bummer about yours coppin it , you'd think Carma would've been on your side for tying to help ,.

keen to hear if it's doable too, : )

[Chamelion]

Oh man... Where is karma when you need her?

Others may correct me.. But if the wood itself is cracked, you'll probably need a new tranny.

[Jarrah Jack]

Thats no good at all, rotten luck. The best I can think of is doing the cutting and prep on the transom yourself then getting a pro to finish it off. It would be a matter of finding a friendly glass guy and going from there under his supervision.

Good luck with however you decide.

[zac320]

Well this is what I plan to do and if it gets worse ill do it properly as the boats all good apart from this. Sorry for my lack of boat terms. I'm gonna get a big plate and cut it at the top so it fold over where the motor sits on. The. Do the same on the Inside I know it's a much smaller area. Anyway where the motor gets bolted through I'll run another plate on the inside to each bolt and fab up a mount with a bolt so I tension it up to my ski pole. Ski pole is very securely mounted to the floor. I figure it should cost me about $200 in materials. If it works well I'm happy and if it cracks worse atleast I tried. I'm very handy with my tools rebuild motors ect but very new to boats. Btw the outboard is a 84 merc blueband freshly rebuilt power head and gearbox and new coils and leads so it's in top shape.

[SunnyCoastMark]

Unfortunately zac, if your transom is rotten -what you propose will just be a band aid solution and you'll find the transom will get worse under the plate and possibly result in a catastrophic failure (like sinking)

Fix it properly the first time - cant beat that peace of mind............

mark

[zac320]

Hey mate I dont think my transoms rotten it was solid before I had the big hit. Im sure it has patches though as it is 35yr old but its in good shape like none of them lil fibreglass cracks you get and the floors solid as a rock. I guess this is more of a brace. Anyhow I am going to call a few places to Tomorow and see how much it will cost me. Dnt mind paying 2g as I plan to keep the boat. She's only 14ft and handles like a mule in the rough but it flies in the lake with the 90hp

[Moonlighter]

Zac, I may have missed it but what about your insurance? This would normally be a claim able incident on a comprehensive policy?

ML

[zac320]

Dnt have insurance mate. Boat only cost me $2500, motor had just been rebuilt and I just spent 1100 on gearbox rebuild and 300 on new coils and leads

[Chamelion]

Wow, you're keen.. $1400 spent on doing up a blueband isn't the usual... They're not known for their long term reliability, but personally, I love the 'nearly' classic look of them. That said, I wonder how many modern motors you'll still see running in 30+ years? :D

2g should see you with a new transom I'd think.. Best taking the boat to a professional and have them look over it and give you informed advice. May as well get the stringers checked out whilst the transom is getting done too... It's really not worth half arsing it, not with something as potentially dangerous as a boat sinking. Not to mention if the 'at home' repair suffers a catastrophic failure then you're going to lose that motor at the least, the whole package at the worst. Without insurance (good luck getting insurance on an old boat with a patched together transom) that is a lot to risk, not even taking into account the safety of those you have on board.

Can you throw up some photos of the boat? I'm really interested to see it. 8-)

Matt.

[zac320]

Well when I bought the motor I had a receipt for $4000 for a complete rebuild for it and the gearbox was only ment to be $600 but blew out to $1100 so I thought ahwell new coils and leads and I also done the carbys nothing else can go wrong really haha

[Chamelion]

Just been doing a little reading.. You should get a healthy chunk of change from 2g to have a transom properly re-done. Googled some pictures of that model boat too. I like them a lot.. Bit of a closet classic savage fan myself. ;) I very very nearly bought a Savage Envoy back in 2008, but a potentially dodgy transom put me off. In hindsight for the price of the package I could have knocked $500 of the asking, had the transom replaced and would have had a nice little boat.

[barra71]

Hi Zac, just remember at the end of the day mate you are the skipper of the boat and if you have someone in the boat or skiing with the transom patched up, all liability falls back on you mate..
2g for a new transom is some $$ to spend but how much is a solicitor for a court case..

just saying mate thats all..

pice of mind mate,,, first expenses is the last expenses if done right..

[TREVELLY]

Zac, having just had a complete transom replacement (albeit aluminium but impressions remain the same) I can only highly recommend you take the boat to two or three boat builders just to get their advice and a quote - cost for this is nothing but your time and the advice they will pass onto you will be invaluable in your final decision.

Good luck.

[Fed]

Are there any visible cracks either inside or outside?
Are the bolts that hold the outboard on pulling into the glass on the inside?

If I had to do a transom today I'd be looking to get a local equivalent of a sea cast product made up.

How about some pics if there's anything to see.

[zac320]

Hey guys talked to the local bloke today and he says it has rot in it. $2000 for the complete job if i remove motor. I told im about plating the outside and inside and reckons to go with that idea. He said he can repair it no worries but it would be way easier and cheaper to plate it.

[ozscott]

Hey guys talked to the local bloke today and he says it has rot in it. $2000 for the complete job if i remove motor. I told im about plating the outside and inside and reckons to go with that idea. He said he can repair it no worries but it would be way easier and cheaper to plate it.

It's a short term option at best and not much of an option at that, unless it's a tiny bit of rot in the centre but that's unlikely. If it cracked with a hit and has any flex at all its cactus. Cheers

Ps you might want to consider another boat repairer...

[anythingfishy1]

I had my transom done on a crestrida 5.2m by Lindsay at LV Marine at the industrial area at caboolture.He quoted me $1500 to do the transom.Mine blew out beacause i got stringers floor from front to back done and lockup front put on and was still only 5500 completed.I have a 100 4stroke Yamaha hanging off it and absolutely no movement at all
Cheers
Kelvin

[zac320]

Hey guys I've had a think. And I do plan on keeping it and really 2G is that much. Atleast then I know the integrity of the structure. I'll have piece of mind for the motor and boat. But the boat repairer was the only one I cauld find in my area. I'll call around Tomorow and try find some others for a second quote. Might aswell paint it too! Haha

[ozynorts]

You know the boat and you like it so why not treat the old girl to a little love and do the job right. At least you then know it is safe and reliable.

[TREVELLY]

Zac I took my boat to five places and I thought it a lot of hard work but believe me it is the best investment you will make in getting it done right.

I only went to so many as some just weren't interested - too busy or too big or too much of a headache.

As said by others straps and braces are a short-term fix and I see you are saying too ;)

[Jarrah Jack]

You could do an advanced search on here about transom rebuilds then do most of the work yourself. Its easy enough to cut the outside glass off being careful to leave 50mm all around. You would then dig out the timber with a drill and chisels, a chainsaw even. Then you have to cut the ply to the correct size, two sheets probably then take the lot to the glass guy to finish it expertly.

It would save you a lot of money. Worth asking the glass guy about it. There's a local fellow here who's always happy to give the right advice so people can do it that way.

[zac320]

Yep problem is I live in a country town so there's not many places. There's a few back yarders which I don't mind giving them a go. The way this bloke said he would do it is pretty much cut the rear half of the boat off and go from there. I would love to do the work myself as i love saving money and im fairly compentent in most areas but new to fibreglassing and boats but I own a gq patrol that I just pulled out the old motor rb25det and have to put another in(drowned whole car bent conrods lol). Also rebuilding my ktm 150 and my kx100 playbike so I already have to much on!

EDIT - before someone asks the patrols flys. Would smoke a standard commodore and that's stock turbo and boost.

[Chamelion]

Hey guys I've had a think. And I do plan on keeping it and really 2G is that much. Atleast then I know the integrity of the structure. I'll have piece of mind for the motor and boat. But the boat repairer was the only one I cauld find in my area. I'll call around Tomorow and try find some others for a second quote. Might aswell paint it too! Haha

Good choice.

[cgibbo308]

fed. from what i saw. sea cast have a dealer here. im thinking about using it myself but,,,,,
you have so little room to dig out so much timber.

[Fed]

The real seacast stuff is pretty expensive gibbo I guess a gallon would do a small boat. Surely it can't be that hard to make up a slow curing soup mix.

I did my cat from the top, glass with chopped mat and timber, full width of each transom down to well below the motor bolts. I only used hand tools it never dawned on me to attack it with a drill & a chainsaw but it wasn't too hard.
I've seen a lot of transom & stringer jobs in forums and I'm convinced some of these nutters make it their life's work.
Dig & fill the transom and a few wraps of glass over the existing stringers and go fishing, too easy.
One of my old customers was Norglass, very approachable and I bet they could easily come up with a seacast alternative.

[WalrusLike]

Would a router be good way to eat out the soft bits?

Set to correct depth then merrily wiz around in a spiral? Don't know how that would go in a glass/wood setting. Might be recipe for disaster....

But if it works it would be the easiest way to eat a predetermined depth I think.

[ozscott]

Isnt the problem with getting the soft out and filling with seacast (apart from any differences in torsion strength) is that you cannot tell if the stringers for the floor are rotten? A lot of the time the wet travels to them from the transom....so you could be bandaiding and not having the transom and stringers all bound up together solid...

Cheers

[cgibbo308]

you are right scott. another reason i have not attacked the problem yet is the floor. once i cut it out i will see what needs doing there.
but all mine will have to wait till i get a job. (sighs)

once i start working i will ook into fixing mine or scrapping it. i do love the old tub :)

[zac320]

Well it's going into white pointer marine on Monday to get done by erick hyland he's quoted me $2000 and reckons he will have it done within a week or 2! Which I thought was bloody quick. I get paid monthly an hoping it was gonna take longer! Haha

[weekendfisher]

Mate i was in the same boat as you about a year ago (so to speak) transom needed to be replaced did i brace it and hope for the best or replace .. i called around alot of places until i was given one quite of $1200 which was nothing for a new transom..
Didn't end up doing it though money was better spent on a nicer newer boat :)
However when it comes to saftey on the water you do not compromise because when you are swimming for the shore and your boat is sinking suddenly a few K does not sound so bad.. plus at the end of the day you will have a bout that will last another 20 years +.
It will healp with resale value and peace of mind.
Cheers

[cgibbo308]

i dont know how you handle monthly pay :S i couldnt do it.
i started reading and was going to say cool its only taking 2 weeks.. oh well, you can call him and tell him to take his time.
i have heard of some mechanics giving a lil discount if they could take their time on a job as it meant they could get bigger more paying jobs out of the way ..

[zac320]

Yeah monthly sucks. Specially when ya 19 and gotta party and drink booze every weekend! Haha. I work on a fishing boat offshore too, was on a trawler now I'm on a Danish seiner much more relaxed lifestyle. Just a question fellas , The prop hit a few rocks too and it's scarred up. Didn't effect It or I cauldnt notice anything, but before I took it out I had just had the gearbox all done up. I never turned the prop by hand after it was done so I can't compare. But now when I turn it I can feel it. Like I can feel the bearing or the gears spin over each other? Is this normal?

[ozscott]

you are right scott. another reason i have not attacked the problem yet is the floor. once i cut it out i will see what needs doing there.
but all mine will have to wait till i get a job. (sighs)

once i start working i will ook into fixing mine or scrapping it. i do love the old tub :)

Is she a V-Sea based on the photo? Nice rig. Cheers

[barra71]

yes you can turn it in gear BUT always turn the way the prop would when in forward gear dont turn the prop backwards as this can stuff up the fins on the water pump. this is what i was told my a local marine mechanic told me. if this is not true i am sorry just what i was told.... also i would use a fine file on the prop to take out any burs if you have any. and could be idea to check for any other damage that may have been caused, like skeg, gearbox seal and so on..

But now when I turn it I can feel it. Like I can feel the bearing or the gears spin over each other? Is this normal? .......yes this is normal when in gear..

[zac320]

Well it's not in gear, so what should it feel like when turning the prop?

Edit: Don't worry just went out then and it feels all free and good. I must have been thinking thing the other day! It goes in Tomorow to get the transom done. I have to take motor off though. While
It's off I might install the carbi rebuilds I got here. Not that it wasnt running good but now it might run even better.
Also guys none of the guages work on this boat anymore and are old and cracked. What guages will work with a blueband. And what should I have the throttle at when planning down the lakes?
Cheers