Marine: Boating, Sailing, PWC, GPS and Navigation - Fiberglass Transom Problem

I have a 17 foot fiberglass boat. The wood is rotted. I took the back off and 75% of the inside skin was damaged and came with it. What are my options for the cheapest, but effective repair?? Someone told me that as long as all the wood is sealed really good, I didn't need to worry about the inside skin. Is this true?

More information is needed.

You don't say if this boat has an inboard, inboard/outboard or outboard engine.
Regardless of which type of boat you have the inside layer of fibreglass will contribute to the overall strength of the structure and must be replaced.

It is sometimes difficult when replacing the original board to get the repair as strong as the original construction.
The fibreglass work that you do must be top notch and at a professional level because of the forces exerted on a transom.
This type of repair is not like patching a hole.
I have repaired a 16 foot boat with an outboard transom and for peace of mind built in an aluminum bracing system.

I would strongly suggest that if not experienced with this type of work that you hire a professional to do it for you.

I am putting a Johnson 90 horse outboard motor on it. I've been studying how to do the repair for quite some time now and was confident until I realized that the inside skin was badly damaged. Will you please give me more info on how you did your reinforcement with the metal you used? I would greatly value your input. Thank you very much.

I am not following you when you say the inside skin is damaged. I keep thinking that you are talking about the fiberglass on the inside of the boat. I am assumiing that you are planning on replacing the entire section of wood inside the transom because it is rotted away. If you have the skills to do this and fiberglassing the replacement in place, I don't understand what makes the inside skin damage a big deal. I guess I don't know exactly what you are repairing. You need a stout transom for a 90hp motor. The inside fiberglassing could be holding the structural wood in place or some of it it could be there just to seal the wood. If you only have limited problems around the motor mounting bolts, repairs may be much simpler.

stevcorrei,

What I did with mine was a complete wood replacement.
I have some experience with fibreglass but know enough that a diy repair will not always be as strong as the original.
The aluminum bracing I did was to guarantee I would not have a failure.

I really cannot tell you exactly what to do with yours because as Phil has said, we don't know exactly what is wrong and how your boat is built.
This type of project is entirely possible to diy but you had better be sure your fibreglassing skills are good, as a failure could be catastrophic!

If it were possible to find a way of posting some pics we could go further.

(BTW, this site does not allow the uploading of images but if you had a place to host them they could be linked to here. )

stevcorrei,

What I did with mine was a complete wood replacement.
I have some experience with fibreglass but know enough that a diy repair will not always be as strong as the original.
The aluminum bracing I did was to guarantee I would not have a failure.

I really cannot tell you exactly what to do with yours because as Phil has said, we don't know exactly what is wrong and how your boat is built.
This type of project is entirely possible to diy but you had better be sure your fibreglassing skills are good, as a failure could be catastrophic!

If it were possible to find a way of posting some pics we could go further.

(BTW, this site does not allow the uploading of images but if you had a place to host them they could be linked to here. )
Thank you for all your input. Although I'm not a pro I found out that the fiberglass that is behind the wood isn't a big deal. I can still replace and fix everything. Thanks.

Uhmmm, YES it is. It prevents water from soaking into the wood and rotting. I think your transom is already rotted or on its way. Take a pick and dig around the inside of a bolt hole and see if you get soft wet wood.
Wes