Yep Pat I agree just resealed my Ranger a couple of weeks ago. Looks like even 14 layer laminate of glass and kiln dried fir will rot.

Look up the word "composite". . Just because it says "composite" doesnt mean there is no wood. Pat Goff is spot on with his advice. Bob Landry is also. A transom ( or anything for that matter) is only as good as the rigger is. Materials used,techniques,etc etc. I reseal my boats every 7 to 10 years.I ALSO check (look) for ANY signs of sealant failure,cap seperation, cracks ( superficial gel coat cracks),structural signs etc etc , bolt & nuts torqued ,on an almost daily basis. Its just become a habit every time im around my boat/trailer. When i buy a used boat I do it first thing. Why trust it? It doesnt take THAT long to do it. One or two days for everything to be done & sealant to cure & i get 7 more years of trouble free use out of it. As opposed to a much longer & difficult process. Just my .02 cents worth.

Gentlemen ,don't fall into the hype/marketing strategy that "ALL COMPOSITE" means NO WOOD. Composite is 2 or more materials used together. Doesn't say "NO WOOD". I've heard people say " I bought a boat that doesn't have wood ". REALLY??? Ten years (& many tears) later they have a rotten transom or stringers & they're singing a different tune.

I 100% agree that sealing your transom and keeping good maintenance is the life of any and all boats. I don't know about all boats but I can tell you that the newer Rangers, Stratus and Triton bass boats have no wood in them at all. I toured the Ranger plant (they build Stratus and Triton there too) couple of years ago and saw the laminated fiber glass they use. No wood anywhere in these boats (part of the sales pitch as well). The Rangers are built with higher quality materials (at least were before JM took over) than the other two but all are wood free. Sorry for hijacking the thread,

Once again let's learn something about fiberglass and how it really works.
Any fiberglass laminate is porous. Yep it'll suck up water like a fat kid on a Popsicle. That's the purpose of the gel coat to keep water out. That's anything made from fiberglass, go look at a shower in Home Depot.

Water intruding in your "no rot" transom can and will delaminate it and it'll soon come apart as quick as the cheapest plywood ever built.

Go ahead and believe that sales sleaze that convinced you that you'll never need to worry about your toy again. Sucker.

Pats got a way with words that makes me seem nice and I've been called brutally honest (mean).

THAT is the reason I have followed advice from Pat for many years. He is the real deal & has the experience & knowledge in the construction materials & how they are put together in boats.He didnt learn that from a "tour of a factory". He dont mince words. Calls it like he sees it! Flat out.!!! Plus he can make your ribs sore from laughing when he tells a story. A lot of "myths" & marketing strategy money is spent to "sell" boats. Like the cut out Ranger ad years ago. Sold a lot of boats for them. Unbeknownst to the average bass boat buyer, ALMOST ALL boats would do the same thing. Simply because of Coast Guard requirements of flotation foam minimum requirements of boat manufacturers to gain Coast Guard rating staus.
Boat marketing is no different than auto or motorcycle marketing. Theyve ALL got the latest/greatest that the competitors dont have. BULLS%#+!!!! They have to get a certain percentage of market share or they go broke.

Well, I'm still working on the dang boat. I was finally able to get the wood out. I thought that was the hard part. I mixed my first 5 gallon bucket and poured in. I was just about to mix another 2 gallons to top it off but something told me to go look inside the hull. Sure enough, the tape on one of the holes inside had come loose and it looked like a flowing volcano inside the bilge area. I grabbed the first thing that I saw, which happened to be cardboard and tried to apply pressure until it stopped bleeding. I'd estimate about 3 gallons ended up in the bilge area. With all my hoses and pumps in there, I couldn't find anything that would really scoop it out. I had to let it harden. I've now spent the last week with a mallet and chisel removing it a 1/4" at a time. Not fun on the back or arms. This stuff is hard like concrete and will eat up a chisel.

The drain and through hull fittings had been replaced just a few months ago. Now, I'm afraid that I probably messed up or will me up the seals around them so I have to replace them while I am at it. The pumps got the stuff inside them also so they are getting replaced. I've got about 3/4 of it removed. At this rate I might make it fishing by Winter.

That is bringing back bad memories! It is so hard to get hands on the bilge and live well components! But stay after it.....

Glad I decided to read this thread. Now I know there's one more thing to add to the list of maintenance to do on the boat.
I do appreciate the guys on this forum that don't mind spending a little time to share their knowledge with dummies like me.

Note: pull all screws that go into or thru the transom. clean, check repair holes, apply 4200. clean check replace hardware, apply 4200.

Or you could just let the boat rot from the inside...

Well, I got the transom poured today with no more leaks. I can check one thing off the to do list.

Looks good!

Fisherdad58, that's it! Pull, clean, let dry if need be, and replace! I'm doing it to my boat as we speak.

Holy carp! what a PITA