Needing to find a good fiberglass repair shop to give estimates for a complete transom overhaul. Wanting to get it done for under $1,500 with gel-coat. Is there such a place or person available? Can send pics of damage to serious responses of repairmen looking for work.

Bought the boat last weekend. Need a great repair shop that will fix it and fix it right without charging an arm and a leg.

To get the job done right, it's going to cost you about $3,500... If you do it yourself, it can be done cheaper. Lots of labor involved. Go to BBC (bassboatcentral) and check in the Champion section. Lots of people have had success drying the transoms out with heat lamps if not rotted out. Takes about two weeks under the lamps. If it's rotted out, the knee braces and stringers most likely need attention too. Good luck!

I was gonna suggest the same thing but not just the ChampN forum but also the General Bassboat Topics BBC is the best resource I think. Hove seen several threads where folks rebuilt their own transoms (even whole hull do-overs) but you need to be a little handy with tools.

had mind done last year and the 3 reputable places i called all charge about 4k. if you remove the engine and gas tank yourself it will save you a nice chunk of that. my tank would not come out til the topcap was cut.

There is an alternative. You can use a pourable transom repair kit and do it yourself. It costs $200-400. I noticed my transom had some play in it and when I checked it out, I found all of the wood inside had rotted away and was gone. Fiberglass was all that was holding my motor on. I started to cut the boat and start a traditional repair when I came across videos of people who poured the transom.

Basically, you cut the top of the transom cap off with a sawzall and save it to recap. You have to go in with a drill and long bit and clean out all of the plywood. That is the hard part of the job. The mix came in 2 one gallon containers. You mix the two parts together and then pour inside of the transom opening. In about 3-4 minutes, it starts expanding. You can mix it and pour it in layers as it bonds to itself and there is a 15-20 minute wait between pours. I poured mine in layers over an hours time and it was hard 20 minutes later. I waited until the next day and found it to be hard as a rock. Before it got completely hard, I cut the top of the foam that expanded out of the transom off even with the top, took the cap that I had cut off and fiberglassed it back down on top of the transom. Even if you had screw holes in your transom this will seal them and is water tight and gives added floatation to the boat.

I was skeptical but for the cost, thought that it was worth a shot. Transom is rock solid now. I added an after market tilt and trim that added about 50 more lbs to the rear, I can tug on it and even stand on it and it has no flex at all. Even when installing the motor back on the boat with an engine hoist, I accidentally lifted the rear of the boat off of the trailer and the transom didn't budge. Scared me but then made me feel conficent about getting ont he lake with it. I'll have no worries buying a boat with a questionable transom any more if it is a really good deal.

If it is something that you are interested in getting more info just contact me and I'll tell you what I know about it from my experience. The cost to have it repaired at a shop was more than my boat was worth so this was really the only feasible option for me and haven't regretted it yet.

You won't find any shop to do that job for under $1500. I did my old Cajun myself and the cost of materials was around $1000 alone.

Motor has been removed already.

Dan-0, pm hopalong on this forum. He replaced his transom in an older Champion and posted pictures and instructions on here a couple years ago. He used a seacast product and I believe he is still going strong with it. I don't believe you will find a reputable shop that will do it for under $3K. It is a monumental job, if done right. Good luck.

Found a place in OKC that said they will do it for under $2,000 since the motor has been pulled. Will post the name of it after he gets my boat completed so it won't back him up...lol.

Seacast is a product that works, if you are a handyman its easy. There are also videos on the you tube. Its a pourable fiberglass replacement. Never have to worry again about a wood transom.

Time out.
90% of the time you can dry out a champ transom to be like new. If it's just wet two heat lamps for two weeks will cure it.

That's Why when you store it when not in use, you leave the hatch open to the batteries and stuff so it can get airflow and kept it dry in there.

Sooner Fiberglass on 89th street in OKC! My Champion will be out Monday with a full transom replacement for just $2,000.

Boat could not be fixed by drying it out. Bought it from an individual who hit something with it and it cracked the gelcoat around the motor mount and indented the transom. Cracked the inside of the transom as well. The bolt holes were oval in shape and could not seal water. It needed to be fixed right. It had nothing to do with leaving the hatch open, although it does help to do. Overall I will have about $7,500 invested in the rig when complete...much better than some of the prices I have been seeing lately for similar boats with tandem trailers.