NHCAD

Transom

The transom on this boat is not in as bad shape as some pictures I have seen on the internet. After removing the decorative trim covering the top of the transom, I can see that there is an outter and inner skin of fiberglass, that sandwich 3 sheets of plywood. At each side of the transom, there is some delamination between the sheets. I used a hack saw blade as a probe to see how deep the seperations ran. About 8 inches was the max. In the middle of the transom, the 3 sheets were still bonded together. I could see where a previous owner had tried to apply silicone caulking to protect the edges of the plywood. Perhaps it helped and perhaps it didn't.

My approach was to scrape off all of the old silicone. I sealed the top of the transom with an Epoxy and Microfiber filler. The epoxy resin I used is West System 105 and 205 fast hardener. I also have been mixing in a 407 low-density filler.

The filler makes the epoxy less likely to run, more flexible, lighter, and sandable. All these products are available online from US Composites. Fortunately for me, I have a hardware store down the road that carries these products on the shelf. I also bought the pump system which is great for getting a 5:1 mix ratio.

I didn't wan't to overlook the very ends of the transom, so I removed 6 staples from each side. The staples attach the green top deck to the yellow bottom hull. By removing the staples I could prop up the ends of the gunwales (if that's the right term) to get access to the whole tansom. Eventually I will bond the sides back down with aluminum rivets.

I slathered the top of the transom with this epoxy mixture. I used my hack saw blade to push the goo as deep as I could between the sheets of ply. I also coated the top of the transom with a thin layer just to seal it all up and prevent future damage. Time will tell. I applied as many clamps as I could, whereever they would fit. With 5 clampls, I worked on the port side first. The next day, after everything dried, I repaired the starbord side.