CONTINUOUSWAVE

I have a [1985 MONTAUK 17]. The top of the transom is splitting along the very top outside edge. [I have] used the boat on the Georgia coast, and [the boat] winters in northern Indiana.



Q1: [Implied: What is the cause of this defect in the transom of this 34-year-old Boston Whaler?]

Thanks for any input. Gordy

How far to the left does the bulge extend?

Is it on one side of the transom?

It appears to be, for lack of a better term, hybrid green line separation.

The green line joint looks to be intact. It appears that there is weakness in the transom. Perhaps there was water in the transom. It is unusual that the weakness has appeared at the top, as water would be expected to migrate to the bottom of the transom. Perhaps the trailer tie-down exerted too much force on the towing eye and caused the wood in the transom to fail.

In a 34-year-old boat, it is difficult to know what the cause of this defect was. We have no idea of the engine on the boat, its horsepower, its weight, and what sort of use the boat has been subjected to, that is, rough ocean water operation, long trailering on rough roads. If the boat spent the 34 winters in Indiana, then it certainly has been exposed to freezing temperatures for one hundred months. Any water in the transom could have frozen and expanded, causing the transom to burst out of the laminate shell.

The concern should not be what caused the defect, but rather how to repair the defect.

The [trailer] tie-down maybe pulling down hard on that side makes sense {as a cause of the defect]. [The damage to the transom is] only on one side This boat has travelled a lot of miles on the trailer.

Two years ago the boat was re-powered with a SUZUKI DF90.