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Author Topic:   Water in the Transom

floater88 posted 08-19-2011 05:19 PM ET (US)
When I was moving my transducer around I drilled some holes and had a bunch of water come leaking out! It's a 1988 Revenge 20 WT. I tilted the front of the boat up and put an air hose to one of the holes and forced out most of the water. Would it be ok to inject something into the transom to take up what space is there to keep the water out? I'm going to be removing all the through transom stuff in the fall and recaulking it all but would like a permanent solution. Could I use closed cell spray foam? Thanks
contender posted 08-19-2011 07:15 PM ET (US)
Floater, the way you can check the amount of water in the transom can be done a couple of ways, but you are not going to like either one of them, The boat needs to be stripped and go and have the hull weight, you can then approximate the added water weight to the hull, second is to strip the glass off the transom and to see just how much the wood has absorbed (transom is like a sponge its going to soak up water) (You can try drilling larger holes to see if more water comes out and if the wood is dry) Even if you get the water out it needs to be repaired cause, the water will rot the wood. I do not want to sound like I'm giving you a bad advise but this is one of the draw backs of having a boat with a wood reinforced transom (most boats have this). Whalers other problem is getting water in the hull. You can not get it out. You will probably get other advise here on this site, but the bottom line is you do not know how much water is in the transom unless you can see it and the damage it has done...
dfmcintyre posted 08-20-2011 09:21 PM ET (US)
How much was a bunch? I know you probably didn't use a pail, but was it a cup, pint? And is the boat stored in the water during the season, or trailer? Whats the condition of the brass drain tubes?
A potential problem with weighing a hull to determine how much water penetration is that I don't believe that the factory maintained real accurate records of the weight of each hull, and that it's tricky to establish a weight of your hull. The factory weight may be 150 - 200 pounds off, and the scale or method you use may also be off.
Contender is on track about pointing out that water will lead to dry rot, and you don't really know how much there is. One way is to drill holes up the transom and see how far the water has migrated. Best case scenario is that the moisture is limited to around the transducer mounting holes, and the water is the result of failed bedding compound. Worst case is that it's migrated throughout the transom. You will not know until you start drilling.
There are a number of threads in the forum written by members who have done this type of repair, or had it done.
Regards - Don
Sourpuss1 posted 08-21-2011 07:37 AM ET (US)
Floater,
Water in whaler transoms is fairly common. Does the boat perform poorly? Does it seem heavy and sluggish when trying to get on plane? If not, make your repair after leaving the the holes open as long as possible.
Or (as I see you are in the great white north) open them up for the winter months and make a permanent repair in the spring. A semi-heated storage space will help. Consider filling all the transom holes and bonding blocks to mount your accesories to the transom?
TommyWhaler posted 08-21-2011 06:48 PM ET (US)
You better follow contender's advice. A band-aid ain't gonna stop a hemorrhage. Motors have been known to break a weak transom loose or off, even ones with plates.
floater88 posted 08-22-2011 10:35 AM ET (US)
Only about a cup of water came out. In the fall before storage i'm gonna drill a hole right at the bottom of the transom where the V is and blow it out with air from one of the transducer holes. Boat has never been stored on water and has always been a trailer queen from new. What I'd like to know is there any point to filling the air space in the transom with something like foam or caulking?? Is this a good idea or will it just hold what moisture is in there and cause it to rot? Thanks
dscew posted 08-22-2011 12:45 PM ET (US)
Be careful blowing air under high pressure into the boat--could delaminate bonded areas of the hull.
Tohsgib posted 08-22-2011 02:26 PM ET (US)
Voids are common and since fibergalss is pourous it will allow the void to be filled with water. Was the water clear or brown?
dfmcintyre posted 08-22-2011 05:20 PM ET (US)
Another question - Are the motor mount bolt holes under water when she's sitting in the water?
And yes, the moisture trapped inside will cause the wood to rot. By drilling a series of, oh, 1/4" holes from the transducer holes up, you may be able to determine how high up the moisture is.
Regards - Don
PS - BTDT. My 1973 21' Outrage needed to have the whole transom removed. Major water intrusion due to improper bedding of twin engines, letting the bedding deteriorate, improper filling of the holes when one of the previous owners changed from twins to a single. The drilling revealed grayish wood/paste. Removing it was not as complex as it sounds. The repair shop simply used a circular saw and removed the outside skin, from the bottom to both sides of the engine inset area to the top. Pulled off the fiberglass and removed the rotted wood. Built up the area with multiple layers of plywood. Then re-coated with layers of fiberglass. Cannot tell it's been removed and replaced.
floater88 posted 08-23-2011 11:04 AM ET (US)
The lower motor bolts are submerged and the uppers are usualy clear of the water. The water that came out of the transom was crystal clear leading me to believe it got in there through the old transducer holes as I used silicone caulking the first time I sealed them. For now I'm just glad the transducer works at all speeds so i'm going to leave it till the season ends and then deal with it. Thanks for all the tips and help guys.
Tohsgib posted 08-23-2011 11:57 AM ET (US)
That is Good....VERY good. If it was brown or black it means it was there a LONG time and had rotted something. Usually when water gets in the transom it comes out dark as it is taking the wood coloring with it, etc. Clear means new and is good. Seal and be done.
floater88 posted 08-23-2011 01:31 PM ET (US)
Yeah when I took a good look at the transom it had no signs of worn gaskets or cracks or anything except the transducer holes where water could get in. And this boat sat on a trailer most of it's life so i'm guessing it's had lots of time to dry out any water in the hull.
outragesteve posted 08-23-2011 02:05 PM ET (US)
One thing you may try is take a raw hide mallet and tap all around the transom. If there is bad wood or delaminated glass the sound/feel of the mallet will change. I have used this to find a delaminated bottom on my race boat. A small head plastic head hammer also will work. Good luck!

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Author	Topic: Water in the Transom
floater88	posted 08-19-2011 05:19 PM ET (US) When I was moving my transducer around I drilled some holes and had a bunch of water come leaking out! It's a 1988 Revenge 20 WT. I tilted the front of the boat up and put an air hose to one of the holes and forced out most of the water. Would it be ok to inject something into the transom to take up what space is there to keep the water out? I'm going to be removing all the through transom stuff in the fall and recaulking it all but would like a permanent solution. Could I use closed cell spray foam? Thanks
contender	posted 08-19-2011 07:15 PM ET (US) Floater, the way you can check the amount of water in the transom can be done a couple of ways, but you are not going to like either one of them, The boat needs to be stripped and go and have the hull weight, you can then approximate the added water weight to the hull, second is to strip the glass off the transom and to see just how much the wood has absorbed (transom is like a sponge its going to soak up water) (You can try drilling larger holes to see if more water comes out and if the wood is dry) Even if you get the water out it needs to be repaired cause, the water will rot the wood. I do not want to sound like I'm giving you a bad advise but this is one of the draw backs of having a boat with a wood reinforced transom (most boats have this). Whalers other problem is getting water in the hull. You can not get it out. You will probably get other advise here on this site, but the bottom line is you do not know how much water is in the transom unless you can see it and the damage it has done...
dfmcintyre	posted 08-20-2011 09:21 PM ET (US) How much was a bunch? I know you probably didn't use a pail, but was it a cup, pint? And is the boat stored in the water during the season, or trailer? Whats the condition of the brass drain tubes? A potential problem with weighing a hull to determine how much water penetration is that I don't believe that the factory maintained real accurate records of the weight of each hull, and that it's tricky to establish a weight of your hull. The factory weight may be 150 - 200 pounds off, and the scale or method you use may also be off. Contender is on track about pointing out that water will lead to dry rot, and you don't really know how much there is. One way is to drill holes up the transom and see how far the water has migrated. Best case scenario is that the moisture is limited to around the transducer mounting holes, and the water is the result of failed bedding compound. Worst case is that it's migrated throughout the transom. You will not know until you start drilling. There are a number of threads in the forum written by members who have done this type of repair, or had it done. Regards - Don
Sourpuss1	posted 08-21-2011 07:37 AM ET (US) Floater, Water in whaler transoms is fairly common. Does the boat perform poorly? Does it seem heavy and sluggish when trying to get on plane? If not, make your repair after leaving the the holes open as long as possible. Or (as I see you are in the great white north) open them up for the winter months and make a permanent repair in the spring. A semi-heated storage space will help. Consider filling all the transom holes and bonding blocks to mount your accesories to the transom?
TommyWhaler	posted 08-21-2011 06:48 PM ET (US) You better follow contender's advice. A band-aid ain't gonna stop a hemorrhage. Motors have been known to break a weak transom loose or off, even ones with plates.
floater88	posted 08-22-2011 10:35 AM ET (US) Only about a cup of water came out. In the fall before storage i'm gonna drill a hole right at the bottom of the transom where the V is and blow it out with air from one of the transducer holes. Boat has never been stored on water and has always been a trailer queen from new. What I'd like to know is there any point to filling the air space in the transom with something like foam or caulking?? Is this a good idea or will it just hold what moisture is in there and cause it to rot? Thanks
dscew	posted 08-22-2011 12:45 PM ET (US) Be careful blowing air under high pressure into the boat--could delaminate bonded areas of the hull.
Tohsgib	posted 08-22-2011 02:26 PM ET (US) Voids are common and since fibergalss is pourous it will allow the void to be filled with water. Was the water clear or brown?
dfmcintyre	posted 08-22-2011 05:20 PM ET (US) Another question - Are the motor mount bolt holes under water when she's sitting in the water? And yes, the moisture trapped inside will cause the wood to rot. By drilling a series of, oh, 1/4" holes from the transducer holes up, you may be able to determine how high up the moisture is. Regards - Don PS - BTDT. My 1973 21' Outrage needed to have the whole transom removed. Major water intrusion due to improper bedding of twin engines, letting the bedding deteriorate, improper filling of the holes when one of the previous owners changed from twins to a single. The drilling revealed grayish wood/paste. Removing it was not as complex as it sounds. The repair shop simply used a circular saw and removed the outside skin, from the bottom to both sides of the engine inset area to the top. Pulled off the fiberglass and removed the rotted wood. Built up the area with multiple layers of plywood. Then re-coated with layers of fiberglass. Cannot tell it's been removed and replaced.
floater88	posted 08-23-2011 11:04 AM ET (US) The lower motor bolts are submerged and the uppers are usualy clear of the water. The water that came out of the transom was crystal clear leading me to believe it got in there through the old transducer holes as I used silicone caulking the first time I sealed them. For now I'm just glad the transducer works at all speeds so i'm going to leave it till the season ends and then deal with it. Thanks for all the tips and help guys.
Tohsgib	posted 08-23-2011 11:57 AM ET (US) That is Good....VERY good. If it was brown or black it means it was there a LONG time and had rotted something. Usually when water gets in the transom it comes out dark as it is taking the wood coloring with it, etc. Clear means new and is good. Seal and be done.
floater88	posted 08-23-2011 01:31 PM ET (US) Yeah when I took a good look at the transom it had no signs of worn gaskets or cracks or anything except the transducer holes where water could get in. And this boat sat on a trailer most of it's life so i'm guessing it's had lots of time to dry out any water in the hull.
outragesteve	posted 08-23-2011 02:05 PM ET (US) One thing you may try is take a raw hide mallet and tap all around the transom. If there is bad wood or delaminated glass the sound/feel of the mallet will change. I have used this to find a delaminated bottom on my race boat. A small head plastic head hammer also will work. Good luck!