transom on a '76 O'Day 25

[Mike]

Greetings,About 3 weeks ago I bought a new Tohatsu 8.8 four stroke. Bought a new mount too. Have noticed for some time that there was a slight indentation (oil canning) below old mount. Now have what looks like a hairline crack in same area. Can't believe that its from the motor, don't have an hour's running time yet. In any case, when I was mounting the motor mount I was amazed at how thin the transom is! I suspect a determined person could put his fist through it. Now I'm paranoid about climbing the swim ladder (I'm on a morring so its everytime). I'm thinking about beefing up the transom. Anybody done it? Any ideas? Starboard vs. well epoxied ply? Thanks,Mike

 

[Timm R 25 Oday]

Transom support

When I first started looking into Odays this was one of the few weak points that were pointed out to me.This spring I launch our boat off of a ramp that was too shallow.I had the rudder on.It got wedged under the transom and cracked it .The crack was about a foot long from the top.When I took it in for repairs the estimates were between $4200 and $6800.The place that ended up doing the repair charged me $600.He epoxied a one inch piece of mahoganyinside about two feet by three feet.That was all that was needed.You could hang the whole family off of the back now.

 

[Herb Parsons]

I Beefed Up Mine

My motor mount was worn out. The old 9.9 two stroke was still running, but I figured I wanted to do as few projects under the cockpit as I could get away with. While replacing the motor mount, I beefed up the transom as well.I took a 1/2 thick piece of wood, 18" x 18", and placed it where the motor mount was to go (but on the inside). I drilled through the marked mount holes into the wood, so they'd be easy to line up. I took it out, coated it with epoxy, then bolted it into place so it would dry nice and tight. Then I knocked out the bolts, and put on 4 or 5 layers of glass and epoxy. Drilled out the holes again, and put on my motor mount.It's held for 3 years, and looks pretty solid. Guess my kids will know for sure someday...

 

[Hoosier Kevin]

Do you have a wedge? -

I am surprised you didn't mention the wedge that attaches to the transom - I have a '78 25 - and upgraded to a 4-stroke last year.The first problem I had was the wedge - the 4-stroke bracket had a larger footprint - and wouldn't fit on the wedge - also the wedge had water penetration and the core had rotted in spots - Note - the core on the transom was solid! - this is important - sound like you may have some water penetration that rotted the core weakening the transom - Anyway - to solve the problem - I cleaned out the wedge of the rot - filled with West System epoxy and filler - fitted a steel sheet (aluminum would have been much better) - a reinforcing piece of pressure treated lumber (1 1/2 inch thick) and on the inside 4"x4" pieces of pressure treated 3/4" plywood with oversized washers - (I would suggest larger size bolts - I stayed with the same size)On the other - port side - ladder side - there is not a core it is just fiberglass - I am wondering if you have a boat that had an inboard motor? - that may explain why there is not a core = Check the archives - there are threads on replacing the transom core - Good luck!

 

[Mike]

no wedge

But the thing is that my new bracket lined up perfectly with the holes from the old bracket. That was my first notice that something had to go wrong. But when I had the bracket off was the first time I relalized just how thin the transom is. Mind you its beefed up where it meets the sole, where it joins the sides and at the coaming at the top but the rest of mine seems to be a thin layer of glass with no core. I'm saying that based on the holes where the bracket was bolted on. Its not that the core had rotted out, I know what that looks like. There IS NONE. There is no space, its just a thin glass structure. No sign of any major repair (or any repair for that matter) there is a one by backing plate on both the bracket and the swim ladder. Other than that its one nice clean thin sheet of glass.Mike