Pickles Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 One of my buddies (not a Raider) has a Whitley with a dodgy transom. He asked what I thought would a likely cost be to replace it. From others I know who’ve had it done, I suggested about $4000 from a marine repairer / builder. He is pretty handy and thought he might do it as a “project repair” and asked my opinion. I suggested that maybe if the transom was rotted, the stringers probably would be too, which would make it a much bigger job than might be expected, but I did say I’d post it here and see if there were any Raiders who have undertaken a si liar job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 It can be a lot cheaper/ simpler repairing it from the outside - though not feasible if it has a complex shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 Hey pickles I replaced transom on my Yalta I done it from the outside as the fibreglass was badly damaged it is a big job but there is plenty of info out there I'm a carpenter so woodwork was no problem but had never done any glass work or spray painting before and while the finish isn't as good as a pro would do I have complete faith in the strength of it oh it was done about 8 years ago if his handy there's no reason why not I also replaced floor 5 years ago but stringers were ok so an easy job. Fibreglass is shit to do though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryant fish Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 I just remembered reading about something called west systems I think it is I'm not sure but I think it was a pourable resin kind of thing you pour into transom try googling it my memory isn't great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, motiondave said: I bodge repaired my transom in my boat during winter, I got in the boat and dug out as much rot as I could leaving some wood attached to the fibreglass on the back, considering the transom has been soft since I bought the boat but never failed, gotta love old boats and their overkill in manufacturing... After cleaning out as much as I could, I soaked it in resin around where I could, the cut pieces of ply to size and resin one at a time in. Took me about 4 weeks to allow the transom to dry out after I cleaned it out, the resin to dry plus matting to help it all hold. Did the job fine here. I'm looking at , in a year or two, cutting out the floors and they are a bit soft at the back but you can still safely stand on them, and properly cutting out and redo the floors stringers, and transom properly, as I have some mods in mind like side rod holder enclosure. Overall what I did pretty solid actually now. Will hold well for another few years I'd say. Didn't cost me much to repair, $300 I think ,. mostly resin and matting cost. If your mates boat floor is still ok, get in the back and poke around with a screw driver inside the transom, you might find it's not all rotted and could be repaired enough to keep it on the water. You can replace a section by cutting the top off and digging out the rotten wood. You dry the remaining timber out and then treat it with a penetrating epoxy resin. Then you drop a new section of ply in using epoxy resin to glue it to the fiberglass. You add aluminium plates to both sides to strengthen up the fiberglass which may have been weakened. It will only cost a few hundred dollars this way and seems quite strong enough. There is a website called 'Rotdoctor' which describes this method, using their epoxy resins. Edited October 30, 2021 by slowjigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 15 minutes ago, Bryant fish said: I just remembered reading about something called west systems I think it is I'm not sure but I think it was a pourable resin kind of thing you pour into transom try googling it my memory isn't great West Systems are a brand of epoxy resins. I think you are thinking of 'Seacast'. You pour it in the top, replacing all the wood. The tricky part is removing all the wood while leaving the fiberglass in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 OK, there is no magic stuff that will make bad wood good, it might buy you a bit of time by patching. A transom is best done from the inside, that way access to the stringers and so on is easy to do a proper rebuild, from the outside can be a bit easier, but it's about 20% as good (if that) and a home handy man will almost never get a good professional finish, it will always looked "patched". There's lots of materials to use, ply, hardwood, a dozen composites (probably the best now) then some pourable ones, that are not really fully suitable for a repair, but well suited to new construction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 OH, and adding metal plates is just putting bandaids on open heart surgery, buying very minimal time at best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 22 minutes ago, noelm said: OH, and adding metal plates is just putting bandaids on open heart surgery, buying very minimal time at best. The plates are just there to beef up the fiberglass in the way I described. The real strength comes from the wood and you have replaced the rotten section. 4K to replace from the inside might be more than an old hull is worth, ie is overcapitalising. The middle road would be to replace it all from the outside which would cost about 1K to pay someone to do it. It's important to use epoxy resins with this method as they are more adhesive than polyester resins (same goes for dropping in a section). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 Done plenty, and NONE need any sort of metal plates, if it needs that kind of reinforcing, the boat is dead and needs a funeral. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 (edited) 18 minutes ago, noelm said: Done plenty, and NONE need any sort of metal plates, if it needs that kind of reinforcing, the boat is dead and needs a funeral. Actually my Polycraft has an aluminium plate inside the transom (from the factory). It doesn't mean the boat is unsound because it has added reinforcement. Also I don't see any reason why replacing it from the outside won't be just as strong - many professional repairers do it and back their work. Edited October 30, 2021 by slowjigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 OK, no problems from me, do it any way you like, your Polycraft is NOT glass and the metal is there for an engineering reason, I'm out on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 41 minutes ago, noelm said: OK, no problems from me, do it any way you like, your Polycraft is NOT glass and the metal is there for an engineering reason, I'm out on this one. Well the engineering reason is that it adds quite a bit of strength. This applies just as much to a repaired glass boat transom when you are leaving the original fiberglass in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 7:26 PM, motiondave said: I bodge repaired my transom in my boat during winter, I got in the boat and dug out as much rot as I could leaving some wood attached to the fibreglass on the back, considering the transom has been soft since I bought the boat but never failed, gotta love old boats and their overkill in manufacturing... After cleaning out as much as I could, I soaked it in resin around where I could, the cut pieces of ply to size and resin one at a time in. Took me about 4 weeks to allow the transom to dry out after I cleaned it out, the resin to dry plus matting to help it all hold. Did the job fine here. I'm looking at , in a year or two, cutting out the floors and they are a bit soft at the back but you can still safely stand on them, and properly cutting out and redo the floors stringers, and transom properly, as I have some mods in mind like side rod holder enclosure. Overall what I did pretty solid actually now. Will hold well for another few years I'd say. Didn't cost me much to repair, $300 I think ,. mostly resin and matting cost. If your mates boat floor is still ok, get in the back and poke around with a screw driver inside the transom, you might find it's not all rotted and could be repaired enough to keep it on the water. Cheers Dave - very helpful info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 9:05 PM, noelm said: Done plenty, and NONE need any sort of metal plates, if it needs that kind of reinforcing, the boat is dead and needs a funeral. Thanks Noel, don’t think it is that crook - but I haven’t seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 4:25 PM, slowjigger said: It can be a lot cheaper/ simpler repairing it from the outside - though not feasible if it has a complex shape. Thanks for the feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 4:26 PM, Bryant fish said: Hey pickles I replaced transom on my Yalta I done it from the outside as the fibreglass was badly damaged it is a big job but there is plenty of info out there I'm a carpenter so woodwork was no problem but had never done any glass work or spray painting before and while the finish isn't as good as a pro would do I have complete faith in the strength of it oh it was done about 8 years ago if his handy there's no reason why not I also replaced floor 5 years ago but stringers were ok so an easy job. Fibreglass is shit to do though Sounds like it might not be too hard a job, but little bit of glassing I’ve done in the past - totally agree it is no fun and messy as (like the smell though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 8:13 PM, slowjigger said: You can replace a section by cutting the top off and digging out the rotten wood. You dry the remaining timber out and then treat it with a penetrating epoxy resin. Then you drop a new section of ply in using epoxy resin to glue it to the fiberglass. You add aluminium plates to both sides to strengthen up the fiberglass which may have been weakened. It will only cost a few hundred dollars this way and seems quite strong enough. There is a website called 'Rotdoctor' which describes this method, using their epoxy resins. Very helpful info, thanks for replying - I’ll pass it on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 8:31 PM, noelm said: OH, and adding metal plates is just putting bandaids on open heart surgery, buying very minimal time at best. Cheers Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 7:57 PM, Bryant fish said: I just remembered reading about something called west systems I think it is I'm not sure but I think it was a pourable resin kind of thing you pour into transom try googling it my memory isn't great Will look it up - many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowjigger Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 1 hour ago, Pickles said: Very helpful info, thanks for replying - I’ll pass it on Another tip is that the wood is usually in two layers. Making an overlapping join will add strength, as will the alloy plates if they go across the join. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted November 26, 2021 Share Posted November 26, 2021 On 10/30/2021 at 4:05 PM, Pickles said: One of my buddies (not a Raider) has a Whitley with a dodgy transom. He asked what I thought would a likely cost be to replace it. From others I know who’ve had it done, I suggested about $4000 from a marine repairer / builder. He is pretty handy and thought he might do it as a “project repair” and asked my opinion. I suggested that maybe if the transom was rotted, the stringers probably would be too, which would make it a much bigger job than might be expected, but I did say I’d post it here and see if there were any Raiders who have undertaken a si liar job? Late to this post. Another option when repairing is to replace with a flat stern (simpler fabrication/repair) and then bolt on an ally pod. There are several suppliers of pods that will ship interstate like the link below. http://profishboats.com/ Bob, you've been on my boat with the ally pod and have seen how much extra cockpit space you get, plus the benefit of having rear marlin boards etc. Cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daltonbourne Posted August 16, 2022 Share Posted August 16, 2022 Reinforce a fiberglass boat transom is an ideal solution for a boat owner to ensure the transom stays tough because it supports the engine or motor that makes your boat work. The finishing touch still involves epoxy; you have to fill in the gaps. Sand the excess epoxy on the edges so you don’t need to revive the fiberglass skin. The plywood shouldn’t be carried to the edge of the transom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daltonbourne Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 On 8/16/2022 at 9:38 AM, daltonbourne said: Reinforce a fiberglass boat transom is an ideal solution for a boat owner to ensure the transom stays tough because it supports the engine or motor that makes your boat work. The finishing touch still involves epoxy; you have to fill in the gaps. Sand the excess epoxy on the edges so you don’t need to revive the fiberglass skin. The plywood shouldn’t be carried to the edge of the transom. Although the fiberglass bilges and hulls are not prone to corrosion, the transom is susceptible to rusting. You can blame the stainless steel bracket for this too. Despite the gel coat covering, there’s no way to avoid water intrusion and surface deterioration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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