TOPIC: transoms

how does one check out the transom on a 66 glastron skiflite to see if it is bad? that is with out pulling it all apart. the motor is mounted solid and when i try to rock it, the transom does not flex. i was just wondering how i would know. you can not really get to any parts of it to test the wood, and how do you check the floor stringers? anybody !!!!! thanks. frog

Put the motor up on the travel setting. Then push down on the lower unit as hard as you can or even stand on it. It the transom flexes she is toast. Look for cracks in the glass at the top of the transom on each side. Also if you are in a cold climate if the wood is wet there can be cracks in the glass from freezing.
Another way is take a small drill bit (1/8 inch will do )go under the splash well on the inside drill a few small holes about were the bolts come thru the transom. Now DON'T drill all the way thru the transom but get into the wood. Now look at the drill shavings. Do they look like new wood or are they dark or black. If dark they are wet or have been wet and I would replace the transom.
On the stringers. Is the floor soft. If it is you very well could have bad stringers. This is a little harder to tell you may have to find a soft spot and cut a hole to see what kind of stringers you have. If the stringer are wood and the floor is soft. My guess is you will have to remove the floor and replace the stringers too.

D

How do I fix the transom cracks?

My '68 Fabuglas does have cracks on either side of the transom. The floor is a little soft too. I'm scared to try the flex test, I think I already know the answer.

Remove and replace

LOL....then's the case of the 1962 Manta Ray that had NO wood....only peat moss for a transom. The plywood had COMPLETELY rotted away. I vacuumed the old transom out with the sop vac. Easist removal I ever did!

herters59 wrote:

Remove and replace

My '64 Skiflite 142's transom ply is almost that bad. I'm currently working at splitting the hull so I can dig it all out and epoxy new ply in.

If you use the drill method and the wood is good then seal it up seal it up with 3m 5200 or equivalent. Any time you drill through the fiberglass into wood you have a path for water. Over time that is bad for the wood.
You can also use a small hammer and tap on the transom. Thud is bad - Bounce is good. Sort of like tapping a watermelon.

I'm beyond the "thud" stage, I grabbed an edge of (non-original) fiberglass skin and peeled it off, then grabbed a handful of "plywood" and pulled it out. I knew 12+ years ago when my brother last had it in the water that it needed a rebuilt transom. I'm just now getting around to it. I have various ideas about clamping the first layer in for a good epoxy bond. The later ply layers (3 x 1/2" total) can be screwed to the first when epoxying them in.