Transom Reinforcement

[windcommander]

I am looking at reinforcing the transom on my Oday 25 and I'm looking for some suggestions. I changed to a 4-stroke recently and had noticed some flexing in the transom last year. Made me a bit nervous, so never went beyond half throttle. I have learned from the threads here that there is a plywood core at the gudgeons and outboard mount. I assume there might be the same at the swim ladder on the port side.

I am thinking I will remove the glass from the inside and replace the core. My question is whether to replace with scored plywood or roving and fiberglass cloth? Which one would be the strongest?

I appreciate any input from similar experiences.

Thanks!

 

[Joe11688]

I am looking at reinforcing the transom on my Oday 25 and I'm looking for some suggestions. I changed to a 4-stroke recently and had noticed some flexing in the transom last year. Made me a bit nervous, so never went beyond half throttle. I have learned from the threads here that there is a plywood core at the gudgeons and outboard mount. I assume there might be the same at the swim ladder on the port side.

I am thinking I will remove the glass from the inside and replace the core. My question is whether to replace with scored plywood or roving and fiberglass cloth? Which one would be the strongest?

I appreciate any input from similar experiences.

Thanks!

You are making a wise choice. Last year, one of the guys on the forum had a mishap that could have sunk his O'Day 25 with his family aboard. He over accelerated his four stroke outboard and the torque of the engine stoved in his transom. Luckily, the hole was above the waterline. Oddly enough, it didn't bend up his bracket but it did put a good size hole in his transom. He showed pics of it on this forum. You may be able to look back into the archives and get some info on it, or he may see your post and chime in on it. Meanwhile, I would check out the public library for Don Casey's book entitled, "Sailboat Hull & Deck Repair." I think that you'll be way ahead of the game by making that transom stronger right now. Good Luck!
Joe

 

[windcommander]

I read that thread and while I didn't see any photos, I thought about it every time I accellerated last season. I also sail with a young crew and want to enjoy not worry. Thanks for the response and I'll look for the book you recommended. My thought is to foregoe the plywood, but I want the strongest approach.

 

[Joe11688]

I read that thread and while I didn't see any photos, I thought about it every time I accellerated last season. I also sail with a young crew and want to enjoy not worry. Thanks for the response and I'll look for the book you recommended. My thought is to foregoe the plywood, but I want the strongest approach.

When he posted that thread, he posted the photos of it and I think that they may have gotten lost when they reworked this web site last year. I know that my boat has plywood in the transom. If it's done right with a good Fiberglass epoxy, it should be strong, but I'm not that knowledgeable about working with the stuff. I'd probably have to refer to the book myself. There's probably other materials that are better than plywood that you can look into. Good luck!
Joe

 

[emergpa1]

My thought, for what it is worth, is that you could drill some exploratory holes from the inside near the fittings to see if the plywood is wet, If dry, then you could just reinforce the transome on the inside with more layers of fiberglass matt and epoxy using appropriate technique. It would sure save alot of trouble and no use replacing dry core with dry core.
What do you think Joe?
keith

 

[Joe11688]

My thought, for what it is worth, is that you could drill some exploratory holes from the inside near the fittings to see if the plywood is wet, If dry, then you could just reinforce the transome on the inside with more layers of fiberglass matt and epoxy using appropriate technique. It would sure save alot of trouble and no use replacing dry core with dry core.
What do you think Joe?
keith

I really don't know Keith. I've never had to do anything like that on a boat. I think I'd rather pay someone to do a job like that. We're talking about applying Epoxy in a confined area. That's not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to working on boats. Maybe that guy Dave can chime in on this. He was the guy who made that thread last year, I think. Of course if the transom is sound, why can't he just back up the swim ladder and the outboard transom area with plywood? I've done that that before with friend's boats. We even made it easier to get at by cutting in a deck plate on the center of the inside transom. Of course, there's more room in the 25's to get at the transom I think and he may not need to do that.
Joe

 

[Yves12281]

I have a 23. I was able to go down under the cockpit and slide all the way to the transom. I could have inserted plywood from there.

The transom was built like the deck. Layers of GRP encapsulated an end grain balsa core. With a small grinding wheel in a Dremel tool, I cut a slot around the transom and peeled it off. I remove all the balsa wood. Replace with Corecell applied with epoxy. Reinstalled the GRP skin over the repair, faired, sanded and painted.