Hunter 23.5 transom rot

[egmorpeth]

I know ive seen a thread on this already but here goes.

here goes. I’ve got an 1984 Hunter 23.5. The lower rudder gudgeon has allowed water to seep into the transom which has rotted around the mounting holes. the fiberglass on the inside of the hull appears super thin so I removed a section to investigate. I know I need to remove all the bad wood and replace. The question I have is, should I cut out a section of the wood and replace with new wood? Or should I dig out as much of the rotted wood as possible and fill?

 

[jssailem]

If you want a solid fix, I would take a look at the way Andy from BoatworksToday.com replaced the transom on his boat.
His approach, adapted to your needs, would give you a repair that will last as long as you own the boat. It will also mean a better resale value when the time comes.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I had the same thing happen on my last boat. I cut out a 14-16" wide strip in the middle of the transom (it was wet beyond that). Then I overbuilt it with the materials I had on hand. It was pretty surprising how thin the original transom was, yet the 1/4" stainless gudgeon tore before the rotten transom showed any signs of damage. I found out the core was shot when I installed the new gudgeon and water dripped out as I tightened the bolts.