Transom on 25 - solid fb or sandwiched?

[USY27]

I recently became an owner of 79 Oday25. The boat is in very decent condition even for its age as it was sailed somewhere in Maine or NH and in fresh water mostly, at that. Anyway, there are some add ons I'd like to do in the next few weeks before launching her. One is to add a transom ladder. My question is - do 25s have solid fb transom or is it sandwiched? I'd hate starting drilling any holes prior to knowing this info. Thanks.

 

[Erieau]

To starboard, there is a (commonly rotten and de-lammed) plywood backer. In the centre behind the gudgeons, the backer is a thicker (and even more rotten) piece of ply. To port, there is no backer.
Do a search on this site for "transom repair" to see the pics I took of the area.

 

[sdstef]

On my 77, the transom is a sandwich of plywood and glass. It looks to be factory to me.

 

[Ward H]

USY27, Congrats on your O'day 25! Great boat! Course I might be a bit prejudice.

Since O'day could have built the transom different on any model year or option, i would suggest you be prepared and install a backing plate or at least fender washers and through bolt your mounting brackets.
On the subject of swim ladders, I don't have one on my O'day 25 and asked on this forum if anyone could recommend one. Most said their ladders were too short and hard to get onto the first step.
The high freeboard of the 25 is the problem. I have been looking for a 5 step ladder. What will you be installing?

 

[USY27]

Thanks all for your replies. As it seems that either can be a possibility I will start on the assumption that it is sandwiched and will be prepared to drill larger holes, fill with epoxy and redrill smaller ones for the actual bolts. And if it turns out to be solid fb it will be a pleasant bonus. I do have nice SS backing plates and all the original hardware with this 4 step ladder as it was taken off of a 36 footer so I don't think high freeboard on OD25 will be a problem. Width wise it fits perfectly and visually should nicely balance the motor to port.

 

[Ritdog]

I can tell you that the SB side has a poly'd plate, with a separate king plank - as said, they are usually rotted out. I had to replace all of that in 2010 in my first 25, and it was a nasty job.

What I did was use 1/4" ply with cloth between, building 3 layers to 3/4" or so. made a sandwich and bolted the whole thing to the hull WITH the motor mount in place, as the holes are slanted in the mount wedge, which offsets the screw holes a little. The screw holes were 1" poly plugs, holes cut, taped on one side, then filled in to harden, then drilled out to hold 1/4" screws for assembly, then the final 5/16th ones.


It took 16-20 hours to grind all that out of there, but it is now solid as a rock. Bad news is that the ex got the boat in the divorce, so I am now doing it again on another!

I would really check to see what the condition of that wood is, as that is where your motor sits, and the king plank holds your rudder. Either or these fail, and you are in BIG trouble.....if you need more detail on this let me know.

It's one if THE nastiest jobs I have ever done, but it is worth it. The grinding is endless.

 

[USY27]

Ritdog thanks. Funny thing is my motor mount is on the port side. And the transom and the rest of the hull look pretty solid with no signs of rot. The boat was on the hard and stored in a dry barn for the past 6 or so years. Before that it was lightly used during short ME/NH summers and probably in fresh water at that. It's only issue but a minor for me is that the deck is a bit chaulky and would benefit from new paint, etc. But I don't think the boat, given its age and limited coastal use, warrants such an expense or effort.

My next project will be installing a reg. marine head instead of the current portapotti. I'll look for appropriate threads but will apreciate any advice as well.

 

[Ward H]

USY27,
You should be able to drill a small, 1/8 to 1/4", hole and see what comes out. If wood is sandwich in between fiberglass you will see it in the drillings.
Consider butyl tape for bedding the bolts. Works great!

If I had to do what Ritdog did, well, I just wouldn't. I couldn't fit!
I would either have to find another boat or pay to have it done and since I hate paying to have work done, I probably would have taken up a new hobby.
Nice job Ritdog! I've read your comments before about the work you did so when I changed out the rudder gudgeons last week I was lucky enough to have a boatbuilder, who is restoring a 40' Hunter near me, go inside to tighten the bolts. He checked out the transom from the inside and told me it look solid to him.

 

[Ritdog]

Wherever it is, make sure the hull can take the stress. That plywood plate is there for a reason. I have cut up two Oday 25s (they were rotted out) and know that the transom is about 3/8ths - 7/16ths thick. You don't want it oil-canning. I had a 9.9 Mercury on my first one, and I can't imagine driving that in a heavy sea with just the hull holding it!

 

[USY27]

Yes, I figured that that transom is not too solid for anything above 2stroke 9.9hp. But I have a nice piece of 3/8" G10 I can double up and epoxy in as a back up plate. If that doesn't do it I don't know what will.

 

[USY27]

This weekend installed the transom ladder. Turns out the transom on my 1979 25 is solid fb with add'l backing on the side where the OB mount is. Was an easy job after all. Even wiggling in the space under the cockpit was not that bad.