One would suspect rot, but I just had the boat surveyed and the only spot in
question was where the steering arms came through the transom - some
delamination. Once I took out the steering arms, sure enough the wood is a
bit pulpy. Previous owner left pratically desintegrated boots as they were,
for obviously a very long time. Albeit above the water line, it was pretty
wet in there. Might have to replace wood in that area. In the spot where the
bolts appeared to be sunk in was around the exhaust ports, which I have
removed and the wood looks pretty good actually, but I'm just a beginner
:o).

I guess I'll have the other areas checked out again in the spring.


"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
I'm waiting to see if anyone suggests to look for the reason for the
loose bolts, like rotten plywood core. So far there is a lot of good
info on backing plates.

Out drive boats are usually built with a plywood core in the transom,
because of the loads the transom takes. I doubt you'll find foam.

If you have some rot, there's no choice on the fix. Backing plates
isn't it.
Jim

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 18:01:09 GMT, "JamesgangNC"
wrote:

I use those hard 1/2" thick cutting boards with ss fender washers and nylock
nuts. Also I put epoxy between the backing plate and fiberglass. The
cutting board material cuts and drills like wood.

It's called Starboard. There is also a variant out there, but I can't
remember the name.

Obviously it will never
rot and will not react with the bolts. I put my wake tower on 4 years ago
using them and I sometimes pull 6 people on 2 super screamer tubes from the
tower with no problems.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a wake board?

Later,

Tom

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 13:46:12 -0500, "sel1"
wrote:

One would suspect rot, but I just had the boat surveyed and the only spot in
question was where the steering arms came through the transom - some
delamination. Once I took out the steering arms, sure enough the wood is a
bit pulpy. Previous owner left pratically desintegrated boots as they were,
for obviously a very long time. Albeit above the water line, it was pretty
wet in there. Might have to replace wood in that area. In the spot where the
bolts appeared to be sunk in was around the exhaust ports, which I have
removed and the wood looks pretty good actually, but I'm just a beginner
:o).

I guess I'll have the other areas checked out again in the spring.

What sometimes happens is that the bolts get over torqued compressing
the wood and, essentially, destroying any adhesive properties of the
glue used on the veneer layers of the plywood. Once the glue bond is
broken and the wood cells compressed (destroying them), the whole
thing becomes suspect.

You can sometimes salvage the wood with epoxy, but that's not common
in large scale dry or wet rot. You can guarantee that if the holes
are a "little" pulpy, the whole thing is compromised. Repairs can be
made by cutting out the rot and replacing with a epoxy, a plug and
fiberglass if the area isn't too large. If the rot is extensive, then
it's time to replace it all.

Go to a local dollar store and buy a small rubber hammer for a buck
and thump the entire transom. Any "dead' sounding thumps (and you
will know the difference once you do it) is where the wood is shot.

On my Ranger, as well as the Contender, I use Starboard if I'm
installing something that requires a backing plate. With a little
patience, you can make Starboard do just about what you want to do
and if you have any engineering experience, it's perfect for
customizing.

Good luck.

Later,

Tom

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 18:01:09 GMT, "JamesgangNC"
wrote:

I use those hard 1/2" thick cutting boards with ss fender washers and
nylock
nuts. Also I put epoxy between the backing plate and fiberglass. The
cutting board material cuts and drills like wood.

It's called Starboard. There is also a variant out there, but I can't
remember the name.

Obviously it will never
rot and will not react with the bolts. I put my wake tower on 4 years
ago
using them and I sometimes pull 6 people on 2 super screamer tubes from
the
tower with no problems.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a wake board?

Later,

Tom

As a snowboard is to snow skis, a wakeboard is to water skis.

http://www.sunrizedigitalmedia.com/B...2%29%20076.htm

:^)

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Snafu wrote:
I like this idea of using a white plastic cutting board for a backing
plate.
I'm going to file that one away for myself.

Thanks



Boston Whaler used (and may still use) plastic backing plates for
hardware on its older Montauk series. If you go with the cutting board
approach, make sure you use BIG round flat washers to spread out the load.

Yup, I would definitely used stainless fender washers and stainless nylock
nuts as JamesGang suggested.

Assuming "Starboard" is similar in strength to Corion, or its many
copy-cats.......You may be able pickup free sink cut-outs from a local
kitchen cabinet dealer. A lot of Corion style sinks are molded-in these
days, but some people still prefer the drop-in sink...leaving a Corion
cut-out to be thrown away. RichG TX

--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN
http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners
..

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 23:41:28 GMT, "RichG"
wrote:

Assuming "Starboard" is similar in strength to Corion, or its many
copy-cats.......You may be able pickup free sink cut-outs from a local
kitchen cabinet dealer. A lot of Corion style sinks are molded-in these
days, but some people still prefer the drop-in sink...leaving a Corion
cut-out to be thrown away. RichG TX

I'm surprised you've never heard of it - it's used on fiberglass boats
for cabinet/storage/baitwell covers/doors and is the stuff used in
electronic boxes.

http://www.kingplastic.com/Products/...ardFamily.aspx

Later,

Tom

Tom,

re your comment on over torquing, the nuts are pretty small (3/8) and I
could easily see that happening but Jim has me thinking more of rot (wet or
dry) than I care to now. The transom is about 12' X 3.5' and the plywood
core is at least 2" thick. Yikes! $$$$


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 13:46:12 -0500, "sel1"
wrote:

One would suspect rot, but I just had the boat surveyed and the only spot
in
question was where the steering arms came through the transom - some
delamination. Once I took out the steering arms, sure enough the wood is
a
bit pulpy. Previous owner left pratically desintegrated boots as they
were,
for obviously a very long time. Albeit above the water line, it was
pretty
wet in there. Might have to replace wood in that area. In the spot where
the
bolts appeared to be sunk in was around the exhaust ports, which I have
removed and the wood looks pretty good actually, but I'm just a beginner
:o).

I guess I'll have the other areas checked out again in the spring.

What sometimes happens is that the bolts get over torqued compressing
the wood and, essentially, destroying any adhesive properties of the
glue used on the veneer layers of the plywood. Once the glue bond is
broken and the wood cells compressed (destroying them), the whole
thing becomes suspect.

You can sometimes salvage the wood with epoxy, but that's not common
in large scale dry or wet rot. You can guarantee that if the holes
are a "little" pulpy, the whole thing is compromised. Repairs can be
made by cutting out the rot and replacing with a epoxy, a plug and
fiberglass if the area isn't too large. If the rot is extensive, then
it's time to replace it all.

Go to a local dollar store and buy a small rubber hammer for a buck
and thump the entire transom. Any "dead' sounding thumps (and you
will know the difference once you do it) is where the wood is shot.

On my Ranger, as well as the Contender, I use Starboard if I'm
installing something that requires a backing plate. With a little
patience, you can make Starboard do just about what you want to do
and if you have any engineering experience, it's perfect for
customizing.

Good luck.

Later,

Tom

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 19:29:12 -0500, "sel1"
wrote:

re your comment on over torquing, the nuts are pretty small (3/8) and I
could easily see that happening but Jim has me thinking more of rot (wet or
dry) than I care to now. The transom is about 12' X 3.5' and the plywood
core is at least 2" thick. Yikes! $$$$

The last time I checked, which was about two months ago, a 4'X8'X1"
sheet of fir marine plywood was right about $160 a sheet.. If you
thump out the suspect area, you may find that the you will be able to
scab in plywood and make the transom as strong as it ever was.

The other way to tell how bad the wood might be is to beg. borrow or
steal a moisture meter and check it that way.

In either case you may not wish to use a backing plate, in particular
if a large area is rotten. It's only going to create more stress on
the transom.

It's a tough one.

Later,

Tom

I didn't say I haven't heard of it.

I don't know its density and strength relative to Corion or other molded
plastic flat stock.
--
RichG manager, Carolina Skiff Owners Group on MSN
http://groups.msn.com/CarolinaSkiffOwners
..
************************************************** *****************
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 23:41:28 GMT, "RichG"

I'm surprised you've never heard of it - it's used on fiberglass boats
for cabinet/storage/baitwell covers/doors and is the stuff used in
electronic boxes.

http://www.kingplastic.com/Products/...ardFamily.aspx

Later,

Tom