Eluder Transom Repair

[eluder87]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and this is my 1st post. I've found some really good info about transom repair here and wanted to ask something. I pulled my Eluder from Texas to Florida. I noticed after getting home a large crack on my gel coat where the motor mounts. (see pic) I had a transom saver on the boat through out the trip but there were parts of I-10 that were pretty rough. I think that the way the motor was tilted up, the center of gravity of the motor was on the boat side of the transom and the bouncing caused the transom to crack. I tightened up the bolts and tried calking the crack but when I backed it into the water I could see water trickling through the bolt holes. I decided not to launch the boat and repair the transom. I've owned the boat since 1994 and put in a new floor in 1999. The hull is solid.

My question is should I try removing the cap or cutting it about 3 feet from the back?

I started drilling out the rivets on the back end but the more I think about cutting the cap the more I cringe. I hate to molest the cap which is in very good shape. How much more difficult is it to slide the whole cap forward? I'm worried about the steering cables (and others). Are most of the wires and cables attached to the cap? Will these be able to slide forward with the cap?

If I do cut the cap how difficult is it to try and make it look like it was never cut? Will vibrations cause the repaired cut crack eventually?

Thanks,
desperate Eluder

Hi,

 

[Will30]

Hi there eluder . I have a 76 Trimate II I had to fix the transom also . I use this stuff called sea cast . Here is the link. http://transomrepair.com/store/agora.cgi
This worked very well for me . Repaired in 2 days . I didnt remove the deck either. I came home one day and my dad had removed my 150 hp inline 6 and cut the top of the transom and dug all the rotted wood out with a 3 ft pry bar after about 4 hours and a box of band aids he had it all loose and sucked the now mulch out of the boat . The next day we mixed up the sea cast and poured it in let it sit over night and put the motor back on the next day . My transom is probably more solid now then when new . And another good thing with sea cast is it will never rot so this is the way to go . My transom turned out so good you cant even tell it was apart . I hope this helps

 

[merc245]

Hi there eluder . I have a 76 Trimate II I had to fix the transom also . I use this stuff called sea cast . Here is the link. http://transomrepair.com/store/agora.cgi
This worked very well for me . Repaired in 2 days . I didnt remove the deck either. I came home one day and my dad had removed my 150 hp inline 6 and cut the top of the transom and dug all the rotted wood out with a 3 ft pry bar after about 4 hours and a box of band aids he had it all loose and sucked the now mulch out of the boat . The next day we mixed up the sea cast and poured it in let it sit over night and put the motor back on the next day . My transom is probably more solid now then when new . And another good thing with sea cast is it will never rot so this is the way to go . My transom turned out so good you cant even tell it was apart . I hope this helps

Where were u about 4 yrs ago! My quickie transom repair didn't fair as well

 

[teamhart2]

I assume by cap you mean the whole upper deck? When I did mine I didnt have room to fully remove the deck, so I drilled the rivets, braced the hull and put some 2x4s under it and slid it forward about two feet or so to do the transom, worked pretty well for me, and didnt have any cable issues, although those wouldnt be too hard to work around I dont think.

 

[Will30]

Where were u about 4 yrs ago! My quickie transom repair didn't fair as well

I ran acrossed the sea cast by accident lol . But im here to tell ya it really worked very well . And if you ever need to do another transom repair try this stuff or if you know some one that needs transom work . I was so disappointed when I seen the hole in the back of my boat and knew I would have to replace all the wood in the transom and I really didnt want to fool with it . Then I seen sea cast and figured I would try it and was very happy I did ....

 

[eluder87]

I assume by cap you mean the whole upper deck? When I did mine I didnt have room to fully remove the deck, so I drilled the rivets, braced the hull and put some 2x4s under it and slid it forward about two feet or so to do the transom, worked pretty well for me, and didnt have any cable issues, although those wouldnt be too hard to work around I dont think.

Yes upper deck is what I meant. I'm still learning the jargon. I read your thread on your Enticer overhaul (nice job!) and that's what gave me the idea about sliding the deck forward. My biggest worry about moving the whole deck is the cables or wires I can't see. It looks like all the cables and wires are attached to the deck from my initial inspection (except for the few wires that went to the gas tank and power trim).

How important was it to brace the hull with 2x4's? I plan on doing this on the trailer and though the trailer runners would be enough support. What areas of the hull should the bracing be located?

 

[eluder87]

Hi there eluder . I have a 76 Trimate II I had to fix the transom also . I use this stuff called sea cast . Here is the link. http://transomrepair.com/store/agora.cgi
This worked very well for me . Repaired in 2 days . I didnt remove the deck either. I came home one day and my dad had removed my 150 hp inline 6 and cut the top of the transom and dug all the rotted wood out with a 3 ft pry bar after about 4 hours and a box of band aids he had it all loose and sucked the now mulch out of the boat . The next day we mixed up the sea cast and poured it in let it sit over night and put the motor back on the next day . My transom is probably more solid now then when new . And another good thing with sea cast is it will never rot so this is the way to go . My transom turned out so good you cant even tell it was apart . I hope this helps

I looked at this and wondered how solid it would be. How about the weight? Does the sea cast weigh more than treated plywood?

 

[Will30]

Hi Eluder , It probably does weigh a little more but all it is , bondo and shreadded fiberglass . Mix it all up and add the hardener and dump it in . My boat still runs 56 mph on gps . You can actually increase the hp on your boat this stuff is so strong . Oh and the transom does not flex one bit . Im very happy the way mine turned out . It was so worth it ....

 

[sim]

Excellent info!

 

[eluder87]

Hi Eluder , It probably does weigh a little more but all it is , bondo and shreadded fiberglass . Mix it all up and add the hardener and dump it in . My boat still runs 56 mph on gps . You can actually increase the hp on your boat this stuff is so strong . Oh and the transom does not flex one bit . Im very happy the way mine turned out . It was so worth it ....

Thanks Will30

My biggest worry about seacast is this from their FAQ:

"Can I use the West System with Seacast™? No. Seacast™ is not compatible with oily substances or epoxy."

I used the West system on my floor and the knee's from floor to transome. I do not know what Checkmate used when they fiberglassed backside of the transom in. I don't want a bondo slab floating inbetween the boat skin and the inside mat. This is my biggest concern. I'm not too worried about the weight. The cost is a little sensitive only because the wife complains about spending money on the boat instead of her

 

[teamhart2]

The hull bracing probably isnt as important for you since you are on bunks, I was on a roller trailer so i did everything possible to brace it. if your hull is well supported on the sides and bottom it probably wont flex too much without bracing, but it might not be a bad idea to put one in around the middle of the boat, I just cut them to a close length before removing the deck, and then once it was off, I used the screw holes from the deck rivits to put screws into the 2x4s, I also put the screw through a piece of plywood on the outside to distribute the pull from the screw a little.


As far as wiring, I am assuming since you removed the motor you wont have to worry about those, the only other wires that could get screwed up (assuming you dont have too much extra stuff wired that I didnt) are the forward and rear light wires, which will slide with the deck just fine, if you are real worried I think youll be fine as long as everything is disconnected from the fuel tank and battery (and bilge pump, mine didnt have one when I started), besides that none of my wires were attached to the hull so they moved with the deck just fine.


seacast- I considered it, and decided against it because of cost and I wasnt 100% sold on their "test" data, Im no engineer, but had some questions about some of their methods, and since I plan on jacking up the HP at some point I went what I considered the safe way. As far as compatibility, your boat was laid up with resin not epoxy so you should be good bonding to the transom, but not your west system repair work. If you want to keep using west system to finish the job, I dont think itll work with the seacast, but you could probably make it work if you used resin to finish off the transom after putting the seacast in (might need to grind off the epoxy on your knees to get a good bond), I would still make sure to bond the new transom to the sides of the hull really well with the seacast as well.

Good luck!

 

[Will30]

Thanks Will30

My biggest worry about seacast is this from their FAQ:

"Can I use the West System with Seacast™? No. Seacast™ is not compatible with oily substances or epoxy."

I used the West system on my floor and the knee's from floor to transome. I do not know what Checkmate used when they fiberglassed backside of the transom in. I don't want a bondo slab floating inbetween the boat skin and the inside mat. This is my biggest concern. I'm not too worried about the weight. The cost is a little sensitive only because the wife complains about spending money on the boat instead of her

I fixed mine in 2006 and ive had no problems at all . I used it all of the 07 and 08 boating season and it was fine . I sure wasnt about to cut the boat all apart to fix it with wood lol. Just for something to happen to it again . My transom will probably out last the boat now lol .

 

[merc245]

Where did u use it at! I'd like to know! The boat that is,I could show u a good time out on the river.{a lot of nice people(canadains that is)} This spring I'm going with 2 gals of that stuff and alot of metal bracing.I really have nothing to lose.
Pic of typical Canadain weekend!

 

[eluder87]

Good luck!

Thanks Teamhart2.

I've decided against seacast. Though I think it could be a good solution I don't think it will save me that much on work and the cost adder wont help me any. I've decided to go with PT plywood and coat it real good with epoxy (after drying of coarse) I wonder how long it will take to dry the plywood? I'll probably get a couple sheets now and start the drying process while I remove the old transom.

Thanks for the tips on bracing and easing my wiring worries. I think you are right, besides the wires & hoses to the fuel tank & power-trim I think the only others I need to take care of are the bow and stern lights and my speakers.

desperate for the water Eluder

 

[eluder87]

Where did u use it at!

I used to water ski on the San Jacinto river near Houston, Tx. My avatar pic is on the San Jac at a place called Bananna Bend. I really like the tiny wake the Checkmate has when water skiing.

I also fished the entire Galveston Bay complex. Man when the speckled trout were on you could limit out on 3-5 lb specs! I learned to appreciate my Checkmate hull design while cruising through 3 ft chop in the bay. The boat was amazingly stable and I could comfortably do 15-20 knots with the motor trimmed up a little. That wide shallow V seemed to hug the waves.

Pic of typical Canadain weekend!

Nice pic, looks like a lot of fun. Reminds me of a cove on the San Jacinto river that I would chill at between water ski runs. That place was crazy on the weekends!

 

[Will30]

Where did u use it at! I'd like to know! The boat that is,I could show u a good time out on the river.{a lot of nice people(canadains that is)} This spring I'm going with 2 gals of that stuff and alot of metal bracing.I really have nothing to lose.
Pic of typical Canadain weekend!

I use my boat up north in glennie michigan I have a house on the lake there so thats mainly were shes used . I had it out on the river thats when I found out the transom was bad . We made a run from elizabeth park down to southfield rd and back and when I got it home I had a nice hole in the back of the boat lol . Ill have it back downriver in a month or so I have to take off the power head and reseal it . Exhaust covers are leaking water . Its always something but I love it . Keeps me busy and out of the house lol .

 

[eluder87]

Eluder Transom Repair Project

Discovered that if I use a center punch and a few raps with my 32 oz machinist hammer the steel center pins in the rivets will punch through enough for me to drill the top part of the rivet off and then punch it through. Man there are a lot of rivets in the upper deck!

The upper deck is still attached on the top of the center transom. It looks like they gobbed on a lot of that bondo like mixture to fill the gap between the transom top and the top of the upper deck. I tried chiseling out as much as I could with a screw driver but it's still stuck. Anybody got a good idea on how to get the upper deck off the transom? I will try to chisel out some more. I hate to have to cut the top of the deck at the transom after punching out all those rivets.

The wood in the transom is still pretty hard. I can hardly dig my screwdriver into it. I think the failure is at the mounting bolts. I did pull a nut and washer through the transom when removing the motor so I guess it was getting soft. I didn't know the nut was there. When I got to Florida with the boat that particular bolt had worked halfway out. I thought the nut had fallen off and after screwing the bolt back in I just put a new nut and washer on it. I had to wedge a chisel between the hull and the motor mount to pull the nut & washer through. I guess a 1,000 miles of bouncing down I-10 would weaken the bolt holes.

Anyway, now I'm into a transom repair. I noticed my floor work still looks good after 8 years I guess I did a pretty good job on it. I modified the original box stringer system a little. On the tops of the boxes that make up the ski locker and fuel tank well, I made the port-starboard span across the width of the hull only going as far as I could until I hit the top of the floor. I used the West system epoxy resin (NO STAPLES!!!) and when I was done I tilted the trailer up as high as I could get it, cutting blow holes at the bottom and pour holes at the top and poured in the liquid foam unti it oozed out the holes. Then glued in the pieces that I cut out and glassed over them. It seems pretty solid and I still do not see any rot. I did use marine grade plywood. Once I get the upper deck moved I'll clean it up and take some pics of it.

Ok enough rambling. If anybody has a good idea on how to detach the upper deck from the top of the transom I would greatly appreciate it if someone would tell me.

tired and itchy Eluder

 

[eluder87]

upper deck loose & cut outer skin

I decided to cut the outer skin since I already had a large crack across the bottom 2 motor mount holes. The upper deck was easy to free up since I could get to the filler with the skin out. I used 1x2's to slide between the deck and the hull and to help brace the hull I screwed blocks to the 1x2's next the the hull tops. I put pics in my photobucket. I think this is how you get to the link
http://s712.photobucket.com/albums/ww126/eluder87/Eluder%20Transom%20Repair/

I've been second guessing the pt plywood because I'm worried about the voids I may not be able to fill up. Since the marine grade I put in 10 years ago still looks great I'll go back with that.

I noticed a 1/4" peice of ply stuck to the back of the transom that goes from just out(in)side the knees to the edge of the hull. I don't know what this was used for. There also seems to be a very thin, 1/8" maybe, ply on the back of the transom right behind the motor. Does anybody know what these are for? My only guess is that they are for adding thickness to the transom so the corner boxes and the knees could sit against them. The transom was only 1&1/4" thick.

 

[teamhart2]

dont know what that 1/8 piece was for, mine had it too, made a good pattern to work with when I cut my new transom, I didnt worry about putting one in since I bulked up the transom a bunch.

 

[Rob B]

I noticed a 1/4" peice of ply stuck to the back of the transom that goes from just out(in)side the knees to the edge of the hull. I don't know what this was used for. There also seems to be a very thin, 1/8" maybe, ply on the back of the transom right behind the motor. Does anybody know what these are for? My only guess is that they are for adding thickness to the transom so the corner boxes and the knees could sit against them. The transom was only 1&1/4" thick.

That's a horizontal brace that keeps the transom from twisting under load. I replaced mine w/ a thicker piece. See my resto pictures.