Transom repair

[hitthebricks]

How hard is it to replace the wood in the transom of a 2050 Crestliner Sportfish?  I have a fair amount of mechanical ability but is this a job that is most likely over my head?

 

HTB

[BoxMN]

There used to be a post here about how a guy did it, with picutres. It wasn't technical stuff, just lots of hard work chipping the not rotted stuff out. Biggest hurdle was getting the motor lifted up securely, If I recall. The guy used a skidloader to hoist his, but he had big shop and heavy equipment. The rest was hammer and chisels, showvac, and elbow grease. Then cutting new one to size and slipping back in. He used some synthetic material. Can't recall who it was, but I bet somebody remembers.

 

Good luck!

[gunner55]

Steve Bakken & Georges Repair, have both been mentioned here 

Edited May 12, 2016 by gunner55

[fishnowworknever]

Easy if you have the time.

When you replace the wood, use marine grade or arauco plywood (or something similar). I re-did the whole boat a few years back, lots of work but worth it.  Mine is a fiberglass but still the same concept (minus the fiberglass although you sure could add fiberglass to the transom wood to make it even stronger)

 

Coat with epoxy resin, over drill all holes and re-fill with thickened epoxy.  Then go back and drill the holes the correct size.

 

Or like Box MN said, maybe some synthetic material would work, just not sure how strong that stuff is.

Edited May 12, 2016 by fishnowworknever

[hitthebricks]

Nice job on your rebuild.  I don't think/hope mine will be that big of a job.

My biggest concern is where do I need to cut the Aluminum.  I know I need to remove the motors and then cut and remove the transom cap so I can remove the wood but the wood goes the full width of the transom leaving everything under the gunnel with no access to remove or install the wood.

The gunnel part has me stymied at this point.  When I'm done I want this to look like it was never done, not like I used a can opener on it  

[Steve Bakken]

Unfortunately the sides have to be peeled up. We've seen many repairs where they use new wood that is narrower than the gunwales, but this puts stress on the wrong part of the aluminum and will eventually stress crack it. We have to peel them up very carefully, and then lay them back down after the repair.  Most of the time the end cap covers far enough up that it doesn't show, otherwise we end up painting that part where the paint was damaged.  

[hitthebricks]

It's starting to sound like it is over my head.  Here are some pics of the part I would have a problem with.

[fishnowworknever]

Yep, I wouldn't attempt that myself after seeing Steve Bakken's reply   

 

Do you think the transom is indeed rotted/wet?

 

 

[Steve Bakken]

Now your boat rings a bell. We just had one similar to this in for an estimate two weeks ago.  Only the second boat in thirty years we've had to turn away.  Brilliant idea by Crestliner to fully weld the whole transom to the rest of the boat. (Insert sarcasm here). Might be possible, this one looks a little different from that other one, but it's hard to say without seeing it in person. The other one had to go back to the factory so they could put it in a jig to disassemble the sidewalls from the transom without them springing apart.

[Surface Tension]

Steve, good to see you here.  I talked with your dad on a few weeks ago about a Lund bow seam.  Nice guy and helpful.

[ANYFISH2]

I would definitely contact Crestliner.  They have treated my brother in law well, even for non warranty work.  They will fix it for you properly or send you to a quality shop you can count on.  Your boat usually comes back in much better shape then before(they seem to fix more than just what you brought it in for).

[hitthebricks]

I have tried to contact Crestliner by phone and email with no results.  As far as rotting wood, I can see it through the inspection plate.  It appears the center scupper in the splash well has been leaking for some time leave a big soft spot dead center.

I stopped in at George's boat repair in East Bethel on Fri. and they had a Crestliner that was older but constructed similarly.  They cut the top of the gunwale on one side and pulled the old transom out at a angle.