Cheap Transom Repair... Epoxy?

Quick back story: Bought a 97 Nitro off here with a soft transom. I pulled the tubes out from the transom pan and could pick out mushy wood for a good 1" around those tube pass-throughs... I hammer test sounds like there is more in the general area. I've gotten a few quotes to repair it completely and they are reasonable but still a chunk of change. Given what we are going to use the boat for and it's overall value I'm not sure I want to invest the money. It still feels solid but the rot is there and the motor has a bit of flex.

Has anyone tried the epoxy sealer stuff? As-in the ones where you just cut the top cap off, scrape out bad wood and fill em up?

This boat will be mainly used for me and my boys to fish a few times a month (at most) at my folks place on the lake. No tournement fishing, probably not doing 60 spot to spot every weekend.

I'm also not worried about resale value. I bought it cheap to just use it when we can and fix whatever breaks...

Ideas, Thoughts, Comments?

Thanks!

Sea Cast Is the one I've been reading about.

Git Rot is another option

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...om#Post12149280

I've done 2 boats with another product similar to Sea Cast. They've both been solid transoms after the repair. Before you do it I'd check the stringers to make sure that they aren't damaged also. The hardest part of the entire job is removing all of the old wood. You will probably have to use a chainsaw and then get creative on tools to dig down into the narrow transom to get to all of the old wood. Once the old wood is removed, clean the inside to get a good bonding. Make sure that you clean the outside and use duct tape to cover any holes. You must have a good seal because if the duct tape comes loose, it will drain into your transom and harden and be almost impossible to remove all of it. It happened to me and I spent weeks with a hammer and chisel removing as much as I could. It will harden and you'll be able to drill new holes and hang the motor in about 24 hours.

You will have to cut the top cap to gain access to the transom. Unless you are really good with fiberglass work and can match your gel coat you will want to make a plan on where you are going to cut it so that it will be the least noticeable after the repair. The stainless trim on top of the cap, I just threw away. I went to a metal shop and bought a scrap piece of aluminum sheet then had a friend that had a brake and we cut and bent it to cover the area after I gelcoated it so the repair wasn't really visible.

When you are ready to pour the product, you'll want to make some sort of funnel to get it into the transom and a 2nd person is really needed. I'd plan on at least 2 weekends to complete it if everything went smoothly. You'll need to replace all of your thru hull fittings and reseal everything. If you have any questions let me know and I can tell you what type of tools worked best for me.

Awesome info so far Thanks gents

There are no "cheap" options for proper transom repair.

SeaCast for us was a problem, we rebuild fiberglass boats and seacast was the only product like it on the market, now in 2018 rebuild shops have lots of options that we can purchase off the shelve, seacast only wearhouse is in FL. Material is 175.00 plus ship $30.00 then a 38.50 hazmate fee, customers did not want to spend $250.00 per 5 gallon plus tax, we use another material now AR-Jay, composite-one stocks it and can be purchased without shipping and hazmate for a savings up to $100 per 5. Thickning agent is used with 1/2 chop fiberglass to reinforce it, been using it for 5 years and have had "0" failure. We use it in the boats we build and our rebuild jobs we our comissioned on

Thanks for the insight.

Good deal thank you. You and a few others have recommended Arjay

I rebuilt the transom on a 96 Pro-Craft bass boat last summer.. took about 8 hours.. removed the rear transom cap... used an electric chainsaw (low rpm) to remove the majority of the decayed wood then removed as much as I could from each side of the transom with a large wood chisel...used a shop vac to clean out the crevice.. poured Sea Cast materials... I waited 48 hours..replaced the transom cap with aluminum channel iron... remounted the motor..the transom is like concrete. cost me approximately $250.00

It's encouraging to see that other people have given it a try.

It is not uncommon at all. The cost of having a transom rebuilt traditionally is so expensive and think about it, the typical damaged transom is on older boats that have lost their value. The cost of traditional repairs can go for much more than the boat is worth. Before the pourable stuff, your only real option was to salvage the boat. So far I have never heard of anyone using it and having an issue. I'm sure someone has but it is not common.

There was a post on here where someone found a shop in Oklahoma City that redid his with a pourable for around $1500 and I believe that was transom and stringers. If I knew the place, I'd be willing to pay them to do it just because I don't want to go thru the PIA work.

You've answered in a nut shell why I'm probably going the route I am. I didn't buy the boat to make a living from it and /or profit from it's sale. I bought it for a relatively cheap way to take my two sons fishing.

this should fix your problem

I wouldn't trust Git Rot for a transom. You have no clue what you are dealing with until you open the transom up. I had one that the wood was like composte sitting in the bottom and the only thing in the upper 3/4 was fiberglass with nothing between and that was supporting the motor. The 2nd had multiplelayers inside of fiberglass and wood. The layers of fiberglass held the rotted wood in place. I had it on heat lamps for 2 weeks trying to dry it out and I never could get all the moisture out until I removed everything. Git Rot wouldn't have displaced the moisture nor would I have gotten penetration to all the layers of wood. In both my cases I don't think that I would have done anything to harden the transom and it would be just a matter of time before the motor came off.

I've looked into the git rot but the unknown of it scares me. Like was mentioned above, I really need to get my transom opened up and take a look.

Need to start gathering what i need and figure out who borrowed my engine hoist last.

Post pics of the work here if you can, more information is always welcome.

Arjay shipped my direction today, dragging the boat back from the cabin sunday and kids are at grandmas all next week so I can get this show on the road...

Arjay is here, boat is at the house. Picked up some auger bits and a small electric chain saw. I've got a shop vac so I'll make a tube extension that will fit in the transom cavity.

I've never pulled and re-installed an outboard (this large) but I've got a buddies dad coming by that ran a "boat shop" in the 80s/90s. I'm sure he will be a ton of help but when pulling and reinstalling is there anything to watch out for? Other than just disconnecting and labeling everything?

Don't be afraid of using the chainsaw. It makes fast work if it. I tried the auger boots and stuff because I just couldn't bring myself to using the chainsaw. Once I did it went quick until the saw couldn't reach it any more.

Harbor freight sells these blades m.harborfreight.com/6-piece-hss-saw-blade-with-mandrel-set-67224.html and a Dremel tool with a long flexible shaft. That works good to get to the deeper areas

Terrible... Just ferrible.

Appears I have a solid transom now but it was terrible. Lol