How To Fix A Cracked Transom

ONE OF THE HOTTEST TOPICS WE GET ASKED Nigh IS REBUILDING YOUR BOAT. Hither ARE six TOPICS ON THE TRANSOM TO HELP YOU GET YOUR HEAD Effectually THE DO'South AND DON'TS OF A REBUILD!

Your transom is usually the showtime part of the structure in a boat to go rotten and is also ane of the most important structural parts of your boat - Not merely does ordinarily the about expensive investment become bolted to it, simply it likewise ties a lot together and well without information technology... your swimming. So in no particular guild, permit's become into them!

1) The Old "Pour In Instant-Prepare Yous Saw On The Net"

Ok so allow'due south start with the biggest cringe transom subject we get weekly! You don't want to get to all that effort and itch to do information technology properly, so y'all saw this awesome production you merely mix upwards and pour into the rotten areas of the transom. It sets hard and boom y'all bolt the outboard back on and bulldoze past your local repair store who quoted you more than the $200 including postage for the gypsie product that fixed your transom in about the same fourth dimension information technology took to drink that half-dozen pack.

So this is incorrect on so many levels, firstly because you paid for a pretty label and fake hopes when mixing resin with talc powder can attain the aforementioned consequence. That result of course is pouring a band assist bog essentially into a cavity you created once you dug what you think is all the soft area of your transom and chances of it bonding to the rotten timber are slim to none, as soon as any flex or load is put on that surface area it will break free or worse just shatter and you are dorsum to where you lot started from but worse… you now take to make upward a story when you take information technology into the repairer on the guy who owned it before you must have put some bog in it to fix it.

2) Sliding A New Transom In From The Summit

So your not equally ruff as filling areas with bog, but yous still don't see yourself cut the top deck off and getting super itchy, plus the weather is good over the next week so you want it done quick! The transom is only approx 40mm thick and the chainsaw blade is no where near that… here agree my beer, out it comes. You spend the best part of the day advisedly jamming a chainsaw or chisel down in betwixt the two transom skins until your confident "it's as practiced as it's gonna go". Next comes the 2 pieces of ply you got from the hardware store… probably went all out on marine ply to justify it to yourself that it will exist fine. Trim it to size and "gum it together" even with an epoxy bonding paste because the internet said epoxy was the all-time! So with some sort of pure magic you got enough of the same epoxy adhesive to run down the inside face of the transom skins and what exercise you know, information technology just slides right down in there. Give it a good couple of bangs with a airtight fist the next day and mate she is equally solid as a stone! Now to spend the side by side ii days trying to brand the tiptop section you cut off look pretty and drinking glass it all back together to resemble something similar what you cut out.

Later on two trips to the reef if you have made the 2d trip… it now sounds drummy in areas and the sides of the superlative cap accept strange dandy starting to form… that's because it has literally sheared the transom away from either one or both of the skins and you may as well have just put a big aluminium plate on the surface area the engine bolts also. The timber is in mint condition and will brand a perfect template or, fifty-fifty better could possibly still be used when you lot actually practise the transom correctly.

3) Using The Wrong Resin

Let'south presume you take rolled your eyes at the top 2 and know that y'all are in for some itchy work but if washed correctly will never take to be done once more and you will accept conviction in swinging the ponies off the back in some madddd chop. Number 3 is not a dodgy or something that is detrimental to the job, but more than a archetype mistake nosotros run into regularly and we want to be more of an awareness betoken. Figure out what resin your boat has been made with first, either by doing some tests, contacting the manufacturer or hit us upwardly! The nearly normally used resin in Australian made boats is Polyester ortho resin. Basically the bluish stinky stuff normally associated with fibreglassing that needs the hardener at 1%. This is handy to know as the same resin is ideal to use to carry out your tranome repair/replacement. The adhesion volition be fine, the working time will be doable to work with and you will be keeping it same/same. The near common resin nosotros become asked to replace a transom with is epoxy. That is fine if yous do not desire a bar of the differences in resins and the group admin from your favourite social media site said he did his in epoxy so that's what your going with, only keep in heed that once you practise your transom with epoxy you and then volition find information technology super hard to transition back into poly or vinyl ester resin in the balance of the build, plus getting gelcoat/flowcoat to bond is now nearly impossible. In a nut shell - epoxy is dearer per kg, takes longer to cure and you will need to modify your laminate schedule (glass type used) to make it all work.

As a little experiment, e-mail or contact ten of Commonwealth of australia's leading gunkhole manufacturers and inquire them if they use epoxy in their builds. On the flip side, if you have an epoxy made boat, guess what… your using epoxy!

4) Using The Wrong Substrate

Ply has obviously been effectually longer than the Composite Cadre vs Marine Ply debate, however among the tried and tested substrates available on the market, at that place are also some non so recommended boards. Structural Ply and marine ply are readily available from nigh hardware shops, simply make sure they are not treated with anything! You practice not want any funny coloured ends or coatings on the board. The resin will not adhere to these treated boards (even epoxy) and you volition end up with a good piece of work bench to apply to cut your not treated ply. If you have access to form ply from the chore site that no ane will know you've knocked off, absurd… use it as a workbench also every bit the nice shiny polish finish either side will piece of work as a mould face and nil volition stick. Some form ply as well has water proofing products in information technology, so avert knocking it off for your transom and go along it for forming up your esky or new seat boxes! Honeycomb or PP sheets are an amazing lightweight product for your flooring or hatches etc, but are no practiced for your transom due to it'south sheer forcefulness and prison cell structure being easily compromised in a transom awarding.. Plus it's resin up accept is pretty high so what you would relieve on the cost of the sheet would go in the amount of resin it eats up. PVC boards are an awesome option and are commonly used in Aussie fabricated boats and the yanks have been using information technology for years. Information technology is super easy to work with, comes in a bunch of densities and all resin types adhere to it. Here is the kicker.. you can get 2 types of PVC boards, the board that has a polished surface actually works the aforementioned as the grade ply and nothing will stick to it so make sure you ask for a pvc board suitable for fibreglassing. Proceed the polished board for your fit out applications!

Concluding but no least is Thermo-lite and like products. These boards fall under their own category in a league of their own with the benefits they offer. Nosotros will go over the Thermo-lite board in another blog, however in a nutshell this product offers a versatile, loftier density, waterproof, acid proof, fuel proof structural board with credence of all resin types.

5) Cut It Out From The Dorsum

If yous have done it this fashion already you will disagree with what I am about to write and probably exercise a pffff easy for them to say type comment to yourself. I have left this to second last so that hopefully it is the last point that sticks in your mind, however it is probably the virtually important point of them all!

Cutting your transom out from the back of your gunkhole opposed to from the inside leaving the outer skin intact, is one of the virtually impact and become repairs I feel y'all can do. When a transom is put into a boat, no matter what brand or size, it is completed from the inside.

The gelcoat is laid in the mould, then backed upwards with the laminate (layers of glass that make the hull) then let cure. The transom is then made outside the boat separately, whether it be a i-piece transom or multiple substrates laminated together to form one. Once the transom structure has been made it is then laminated into the gunkhole from the inside and ordinarily clamped off using large U-shaped clamps. Once cured a lamination is the placed over the front face of the transom and all stringers etc barrel upward against this to begin forming the construction of the hull. The front end face up laminate normally only goes across the face of the transom and back onto the inside of the hull approx 150-200 mm. This then sandwiches the transom between the two laminates and in theory you glass up and over the top department of the transom and finish it neatly on the back side. (only a lot of gunkhole builders still do not do it, instead spiral an blend cap to the height)

When yous cut it out from the dorsum you still accept to dig the rotten timber out like y'all would from the inside, but you now likewise have a hard time trying to clamp it off equally the meridian deck is in the style and the laminate of 150 -200 minimum now has to go around the back and down the sides of the hull and keel to laminate it back in. Then amongst lamination issues and getting precise thicknesses as you only have the old thickness to work with depth wise, you also now have to spend, in my opinion, 3 times longer sorting out the cosmetics of the rear section of your transom and dorsum department of your hull in general to achieve a smooth gelcoat terminate, that volition never match the rest of the boats hull colour or stop. If the transom needs to exist done then there is a large chance the rear sections of your stringers need to be sorted out too. If yous are happy to exercise the transom from the outside but and so spring inside to do the stringers then I think you are going to be in a globe of thwarting once the rebuild is finished compared to doing information technology all from the inside the mode information technology was done from the factory.

What information technology may cost you in time or to pay someone through a shop to have the rear department of the cap off to practise the transom from the inside, volition completely outweigh the price of you or a store getting it to all look pretty with a guaranteed laminate that will non fail from the outside. Look at your rebuilt gunkhole at present… does it have strange cracks appearing approx xv-20mm in from all the edges on the backside of the transom? Which way practice yous think your new transom was put into the boat?

6) Not Waxing The Back Of The Transom

Exactly that, when doing your transom from the inside, wax the exterior skin of the transom thoroughly and record up old bolt holes, transducer holes etc. When you put the new transom in and clamp information technology off, you should come across the resin ooze out of the height and any holes on the transom skin. Oozing resin is a good affair and means information technology has plenty pressure applied to compress the laminate. Once all is cured yous can simply skin the record off the holes, which will now exist flat and moving-picture show any excess resin drips that have ran downward the transom off with a paint scraper or plastic wedge. Whatever holes that demand to exist kept, you lot tin re drill and with the backlog wax, give it a wipe with some acetone or wax and grease remover to have a squeamish clean transom to go on your build!

I hope these 6 topics shed some light on your transom rebuild decisions and remind you lot that cutting corners at this stage can be a world of hurt once its back on the water. I assure you the hottest fence will be over which style to supervene upon the transom and a lot of builders/repairers may argue black and blue they have been doing it for years from the dorsum of the boat. If you seek advice through Fibrefinish nosotros volition ever recommend replacing it from the inside and happy to discuss all these topics more than in depth if need be.

Please give us feedback on what other topics you would like us to cover? Go in touch and let us know. Until then, cheers for reading and we look forward to helping you lot out with your project!

Nosotros're itching to impress yous!