Great Grady Transom?

C

craigious

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Tournament 192
Good afternoon,
I recently got an excellent deal on a 1996 tournament with a newer repower with around 50 hours. Same ol' story, one own, dry stored... yah yah yah. I have gotten it home and it runs great, no problems at all. I did spend some time this week looking more closely at the transom and noticed some areas of concern. As you see in the pictures, there is a superficial? crack between the two lower mounting bolts and the left mounting bolt looks like it has compressed slightly within the hull. From the outside of the boat, there is no sign of any type of crack at all. When I raise the motor and bounce it there is no flex in the transom. It really seems super stable to me.

Questions :)
Usually, when I see problems with Grady's transom the cracks seem to start on the top or top mounting bolts. Are these problems near the lower mounting bolts more indicative of a water damaged transom or could it be that the compression around the left lower bolt was an installation over-torque issue and the crack between the bolts is more superficial?
Is there any real danger continuing to use the boat over the course of the summer providing that I monitor the cracks?
Are there any temporary fixes that I should employee in the interim between now and when I get it professionally repaired (replaced or poured-in)? Should I fill the crack and compression with a sealer?
Thanks for any advice :)

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I think there are some tools to test water intrusion...at first blush does not look awful unless water is coming through but getting that test will help the most...I saw you pose on THT so they will wear you out over there:)
 
Look it over good. Do the "step on the lower unit and look for wobble" trick.
Remove that bolt and look at the wood.
Take a couple core samples from the inside.
----If the results of that scares you...new transom/boat...

If you feel good after that,
sand clean the inside transom, tape the outside of the bolt holes, fill them with high density epoxy filler, glass over the inside, re-drill them,
slap a couple "transom savers" on there (top and bottom) and
If that makes you feel good....go fishing
 
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Thanks, that sounds easy enough'ish to do :) I already passed the wobble test. I will check out the wood around the bolt once I get something to seal it back up with. I appreciate the response :)
 
Online metals has 1/4" thick aluminum bar 6061 in 4" widths that would be a good strap to put under both your nuts. Like a horizontal strip.

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Those look great! I will definitely make those part of the repair package!
 
I had the same problem on my 1993 GW 209 and decided to grind out the washer indents and glass over. I was surprised how thin the inner skin of the fiberglass was there, maybe 1/8". When I ground it out the plywood underneath was solid but there was a little weep of water from between two of the sheets, but it dried out pretty quickly with a heat lamp. If I were you, I'd grind out that whole area with the crack between the two mounting holes. I tapered the hole out about four times the diameter of the washers and put about four circles of increasing size of 1708 fiberglass mat to fill each void, then redrilled the holes from outside. Other than lying on my stomach and working through the deck access panel it was a pretty easy job and worth the time. I also bought the TH marine transom support plates (I think Walmart had the best price) and they are pretty thick and good quality. I think with them the outboard mounting will be as strong as new.
 
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Thanks, sounds like a great gameplan! I like the idea of adding the 1708 mat. I am glad to have a plan, now to put it in action!
 
I think someone went a little crazy with the impact gun. I would put on the transom savers, bedded, and call it a day.
 
Hate to be the contrarian here, but that left bolt doesn't look good to me... The cracking of the gel coat all around the washer means that the the core has lost some mass. At a minimum, I'd pull the motor, remove the bad gel coat and see what's happening there...
 
Well, I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little concerned. If you look at the right bolt there is a bit of an indention coming around it from the split that is running down the middle. I don't mind fixing it right come January, but I want to get lots of use out of it this summer. I am gonna mark it on the boat and run it a few times and see if the cracks are expanding at all. I am concerned that if I remove the bolts that I will open a pandora's box that will require a more complicated overhaul that will leave my boat outta the water during prime season. I may just silicone it up and just watch it super closely for any expansion.
 
There really shouldn't be any stress on the lower bolts. The only way I can see this happening is over tightening.
 
everwhom said:
Hate to be the contrarian here, but that left bolt doesn't look good to me... The cracking of the gel coat all around the washer means that the the core has lost some mass. At a minimum, I'd pull the motor, remove the bad gel coat and see what's happening there...
Click to expand...

I tend to agree. That left bolt is a bit scary. You can try a few things. Spray the inside down well with Zep Mildew and Mold cleaner to get a good look at everything. Spray, 3 min on, wash off. All that black crud will be gone. Can drill a couple of small weep holes in the lower part and see what the wood looks like and if any water comes out. The brackets will help but if the core is fubar, it is a band aid.
 
Punch53 said:
There really shouldn't be any stress on the lower bolts. The only way I can see this happening is over tightening.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that when in reverse the motor would be pulling on the lower bolts.
 
Just got the motor back on. My bolt pictures looked pretty much like yours beforehand.
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