I recently noticed a crack in the fiberglass(plastic?) wedge between my motor mount and transom on a 76 O'Day 25. I have no idea whether to be concerned, ignore it, or what? Can anyone provide feedback on this? The transom appears sound inside and out.
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R.W.,
between the motor mount and the actual hull, there is a white, wedge shaped spacer. It is thickest at the top, and tapers downward. Toward the bottom of the wedge, it has developed a noticeable crack that runs fore and aft, from the motor mount to the hull; or about 1 to 1.5 inches. The hull itself appears fine. I would just replace the wedge, but I understand they are difficult to find.
between the motor mount and the actual hull, there is a white, wedge shaped spacer. It is thickest at the top, and tapers downward. Toward the bottom of the wedge, it has developed a noticeable crack that runs fore and aft, from the motor mount to the hull; or about 1 to 1.5 inches. The hull itself appears fine. I would just replace the wedge, but I understand they are difficult to find.
Motor Mount Wedge
Just this week I noticed the same kind of problem on my 78 O'Day 23. Yesterday I removed the motor mount and the wedge. The wedge appeared to have been glued to the hull and was rather difficult to remove. The wedge is quite heavy and seems to be solid fiber-glass but the lower half had several cracks on the inside. I'm planning a better backing plate and a Garelick EZin Stainless Steel motor mount and eliminate the wedge. I cleaned up the hull today and will be drilling new holes and completeing the job tomorrow. Good luck with your project.
Just this week I noticed the same kind of problem on my 78 O'Day 23. Yesterday I removed the motor mount and the wedge. The wedge appeared to have been glued to the hull and was rather difficult to remove. The wedge is quite heavy and seems to be solid fiber-glass but the lower half had several cracks on the inside. I'm planning a better backing plate and a Garelick EZin Stainless Steel motor mount and eliminate the wedge. I cleaned up the hull today and will be drilling new holes and completeing the job tomorrow. Good luck with your project.
The wedge is a seperate piece
Kevin, As you know the wedge is a seperate piece from the boat and my guess is that the two angles on the motor mount have unevenly loaded the wedge and caused a split in the wedge. I would remove the motor mount (leave the wedge if it is securely attached) and put a solid plate behind the two angles to transmit an even load on the wedge. If you are fresh water, a 1/4" aluminum plate would do it. If you are salt water, I would use a 1/4" stainless plate. The plate only has to be the size of the face of the wedge. To perserve the wedge, Install the plate in bedding compound like 3M 4000 or 4200 to keep water from getting into the wedge. If you don't understand what I have said, please ask again. Good luck with your repair r.w.landau
Kevin, As you know the wedge is a seperate piece from the boat and my guess is that the two angles on the motor mount have unevenly loaded the wedge and caused a split in the wedge. I would remove the motor mount (leave the wedge if it is securely attached) and put a solid plate behind the two angles to transmit an even load on the wedge. If you are fresh water, a 1/4" aluminum plate would do it. If you are salt water, I would use a 1/4" stainless plate. The plate only has to be the size of the face of the wedge. To perserve the wedge, Install the plate in bedding compound like 3M 4000 or 4200 to keep water from getting into the wedge. If you don't understand what I have said, please ask again. Good luck with your repair r.w.landau
I repaired my wedge
When I removed the wedge on my '79 Oday 23 to install a new motor mount, I found that the unfinished underside of the wedge was falling apart. The wedge is made of gelcoated fiberglass with a wood center. I removed the cracking, crumbling interior fiberglass and rotted wood, leaving only sound material. This involved removing a good quarter or so of the center of the unit. I then applied a thin coating of west epoxy to the interior cavity; this was thin enough to run into any remaining cracks and crevasses. I made up some thicker epoxy and put about a half-inch layer of it over the thin (semi-set) layer. The repair is now probably the strongest part of the unit. No problems with the wedge since that repair four years ago. BTW, I am no expert epoxy guru; it was the first time I used the stuff. It was easy and fun.
When I removed the wedge on my '79 Oday 23 to install a new motor mount, I found that the unfinished underside of the wedge was falling apart. The wedge is made of gelcoated fiberglass with a wood center. I removed the cracking, crumbling interior fiberglass and rotted wood, leaving only sound material. This involved removing a good quarter or so of the center of the unit. I then applied a thin coating of west epoxy to the interior cavity; this was thin enough to run into any remaining cracks and crevasses. I made up some thicker epoxy and put about a half-inch layer of it over the thin (semi-set) layer. The repair is now probably the strongest part of the unit. No problems with the wedge since that repair four years ago. BTW, I am no expert epoxy guru; it was the first time I used the stuff. It was easy and fun.
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