2008 280EC Rotten Transom

aero3113

That’s awesome @YYZRC I’ve wondered that also! Think about it when I wash down my swim platform also 😂

Aqua_Aura

Wouldn't take much and think if even a few ounces came in every rainstorm and there was a crack on that transom. Over all those years it would have an effect. 

Spyderweb

Great idea @YYZRC.  Thanks.

YYZRC

We had a good rain this morning. 1/2” of water in the dinghy. Barely any water in the jerry can, but I can see water dripping around the cleat drains (maybe through the threads on the bolts?). 

My assessment is that the cleat drains are a waste of time. 

Squatch68

@YYZRC what a great idea! I’m very curious to see how much you collect vs. how much rain came down.  No question my transom problem is a result of rain water through the fittings and into the crack.  Wood was rotten from the top down. Wood got more and more solid and drier the lower down we got with removal.  Your results can probably give a very rough indication of how long water has been getting in there!

edit- barely any water with a 1/2” of rain is surprising considering the water staining I can see on the inside of my swim platform from the cleats to the transom but it probably doesn’t take much each time. 

YYZRC

I have no doubt that the cleats are a big problem. Sadly, the drains don’t work for me and I don’t think they will work to allow you to run a shower sump box. 

Squatch68

That's excellent feedback. I'm going to change the strategy a bit then and probably 3D print some collection containers under the cleats. Will make them larger than the cleats to hopefully collect leakage from any part of them. 

YYZRC

That could work. I might pour some pink antifreeze on the platform cleats so I can see where the water is coming in. 

I rarely use my platform cleats. I have cleats down low on either side of the hull that are more useful. Do you use yours? Maybe consider removing them or sealing them off rendering them unusable. 

aero3113

@YYZRC I use mine all the time. Mine are also used when I’m in my slip. If I had the cleats on the lower part of the hull like you have, I would use them.

YYZRC

@aero3113 the 330 hull has the plywood backing pads for those lower cleats.  I actually have a set that I bought for my 330 but didn't get a chance to install before selling the boat.  Let me know if you want them.  They match the other cleats.

aero3113

Thanks for the offer @YYZRC ! Let me think about it for a little bit. The platform cleats are kinda in a convenient location (close to the dock) when I pull into the slip. 

My transom doesn’t have grab rails, I’ve been looking from them the past couple of years. If you have any leads, let me know! I can see they were originally installed but were glassed over and gel coated for some reason.

aero3113

I should add, I do have the grab rail across the transom locker.

Squatch68

I also have cleats down low on the sides, just above the swim platform like you do @YYZRC. Those are the ones I always use so I don't use those retractable cleats much. Only time I do is when backing into a beach spot for the weekend. Even then it's just to temporarily hold the boat in place while I get my shore spikes and lines installed.  I still use the lower cleats to tie up the line for the shore spikes. Run them through the tow hooks on the transom first to keep the lines low.  I do like to have them as an option though. 

 

YYZRC

@Squatch68 what’s the ramp off your swim ladder? Dog ramp?

Squatch68

@YYZRC it's for us and the dog. It's just a lot easier to get in and out of the boat from the beach, especially when carrying things. Don't need to set them down on the swim platform, go down the ladder, pick them up again, etc.  Also makes it so we don't have to get half our body wet to get in and out. Nice for cool mornings and evenings when you want to sit on the beach with pants or heading to the fire pit for the evening.  Bit of a pain to carry around but it's worth it. We keep if strapped on the swim platform when not in use:

YYZRC

Is it a ramp for loading a pick up truck? Smart!

Squatch68

Yea exactly it. Folding aluminum ramp for pick up trucks. Cedar planks installed between the rungs to fill the gaps. Pool noodles at the water end of the ramp on the bottom side. Let's it float when not loaded with a person (or dog) so it doesn't dig in when the boats rocking from waves. 

YYZRC

Are you back in the water yet @Squatch68 ??

Squatch68

Not yet @yyzrc, the new wood transom got epoxied in on Tuesday. Gaps were being filled and filets made Wednesday or today. Prep for fibreglass tomorrow.  Once it's glassed then I'll get in the bilge and give it a thorough cleaning and a couple coats of bilge kote under the engine. It's an absolute disaster right now!  Then gelcoat the new fibreglass on transom on the inside. Then reinstall the engine and the engine hatch. 

The shop has had some staff shortages (like everywhere) so he has a lot on the go and hasn't been able to work on it full time. 

In the mean time I've been working on installing a 330 watt solar system, 300 Ah lithium iron phosphate house battery, new battery chargers, and a new battery to battery charger. 



Solar charge controller and B2B charger roughed in behind the cockpit fridge since they aren't ignition protected. This is a WIP, cable management still to happen. 


Here is the new battery charger panel I've built. Still waiting for the blue seas ANL ignition protected fuses. Those are just some cheapos I had laying around that I used for place holders to build the panel. Picture below that is just temporarily placing the panel where I think I will mount it in the engine bay. Basically where the old charger and Isolator were.  Again, ignore the mess, dirt, dust, etc.  It's all a bit of a disaster right now. 

YYZRC

You should do a separate thread for the solar! Gorgeous setup. I mounted my controller in the same place. 

Why do you need the B2B charger?

Pat310

Hey @Squatch68 I see your repair shop posted your repair on YouTube 

https://youtu.be/F9nmct3P6W0

interesting! 

Squatch68

@Pat310 that's it! There will be a part 2 coming out in a little bit I believe that shows the process of glassing it in.

I've got the boat the boat home right now cleaning the engine bay, sanding it down, and coating with bilgekote. Also doing a bunch of other work while the engine is out like replacing vent and blower hose, installing a drain line on the starboard under seat storage that has been draining into the heat shielding, cleaning up wires, cleaning and resetting ground connections, chasing down and remediating small leaks during rain storms, installing new lithium house battery, chargers, and solar, etc., etc., etc.  Here are a couple shots:

Squatch68

YYZRC said:

You should do a separate thread for the solar! Gorgeous setup. I mounted my controller in the same place. 

Why do you need the B2B charger?

I will definitely post a separate thread once I've got it all done. 

The B2B charger is needed because the lithium iron phosphate batteries shouldn't be charged directly from the stock alternator. The internal resistance of lithium batteries is very low so they will suck back as much current as the alternator will put out, even at low RPM. This will cause the alternator to overheat and burn out. The B2B charger has the alternator charge the starting battery only and then once the B2B charger recognizes the starting battery is being charged, will allow the lithium battery to be charged from it with a limited current. In my case 30 amps. Once the engine is shut down the B2B will automatically disconnect the house from the starting battery. 

YYZRC

Understood, the system looks awesome @Squatch68 - can’t wait to hear how it all performs.

YYZRC

Are you boating again, @Squatch68 ??

Squatch68

Sorry for not updating, been a hectic couple weeks!  We are back in the water! Launched it on the 26th of July. Gave it a really good test while still on the trailer at the boat launch to ensure no water was coming in anywhere at the outdrive and gimbal housing or the site of the JR Marine swivel shaft repair I did at the end of last year, engine ran well, thermostat cycled, shifted forward and reverse no problem, no cooling system leaks, etc. All looked and went well so we fully launched it and brought it over to our slip at the marina.

Kept the engine hatch open and stayed on the boat for a few hours getting everything situated and organized again for the rest of the season. I probably checked for water or any drips about every 5 minutes. Was pretty paranoid after everything that's been done back there! All was good.

We stayed the night and gave it a full on test drive the next morning.  Had some anxiety about hitting the throttle for the first time. Just picturing and thinking the worst in my head, hitting the throttle and hearing a massive crack as the new transom breaks under load and water is pouring in.  Crazy thoughts but that's what was going through my head and we were prepared if something was to happen. Happy to report that was not the case!

So far, bone dry!

I installed the cleat drains you guys posted about on here and man do they ever work well. I think know @YYZRC tested to see how much came in from a rain and he didn't get much but my experience is quite different. A LOT of water comes in through mine. I've got them piped directly to the bottom of the bilge right now but I will be installing a thru hull and piping directly overboard.

I also tracked down a lot of other spots where water is coming in and have either sealed or in the process of sealing those. Two big sources are the through bolts for the rumble seat and the engine hatch hinge bolts.

I also discovered that the storage compartment under the cockpit dining seat, the one behind the helm seat, has a drain in it but no drain hose was installed in the bilge! The drain terminated inside the heat shield in the engine bay!  I had water leaking into the radar arch and making its way into this storage compartment then draining onto the heat shielding, pooling, and eventually leaking down into the bilge.  Needless to say I cut the heat shielding and installed a drain line. Oh and resealed everything on the arch, including the canvas mounting strips. 

Next I'll be figuring out where to mount a little sump box and running all the drain lines I can into that box and discharging via pump and thru hull.  Determined to keep water out of the bilge as much as possible knowing how much of the stringers are bare wood where you can't get at!

I don't have the work order next to me but I believe it came out to 44 hours of shop time plus materials. That was:
-remove gimbal housing (I already had outdrive, bell housing, and all bellows removed)
-pull engine
-cut out old transom
-cut new transom
-epoxy in new transom
-fillet gaps
-fibreglass over transom and tab into boat
-gelcoat new transom
-install new seal on gimbal housing and exhaust Y pipe
-install gimbal housing
-install engine

I then installed all new bellows and the outdrive, got it all tested and commissioned, and of course got a ton of projects done myself while everything was out of the boat. 

YYZRC

Glad you are back on the water @Squatch68 ! That was a huge project for sure. 

rasbury

 so what was the final cost of the transom replacement? Did you consider replacing the fuel tank while you had the motor and transom out?