transom repairs

[ssfoxrunner]

I was told that the hair line cracks in the transom could not be repaired due to the fiberglass flexing at some point. How long should a wood free transom last? Can hauling a boat make the transom weaker over time?

[VeroWing]

I was told that the hair line cracks in the transom could not be repaired due to the fiberglass flexing at some point. How long should a wood free transom last? Can hauling a boat make the transom weaker over time

That would depend on the cracks, and what is actually cracked. Most times cracks develop in gelcoat, and occur in many boats, especially offshore type boats that experience high speeds, large waves, etc.. These gelcoat "stress cracks" are hard to repair, mostly because they reappear when boat gets stressed again. They are normally not a problem though, and only go skin deep.

An example of a potentially serious crack, that needs a thorough checking, would be one that develops where cockpit sole (splash area) and interior transom meet at interior corner. This is a natural high stress point, especially for outboard powered vessels. If transom is compromised with possible woodcore rot, then this area will flex so much that the crack will go down into fiberglass. On an outboard power vessel, out of water, you can normally stand on lower unit and see if transom is flexing. If it is, and you have this tell-tell crack at interior lower transom corner, you should definitly check further into this.

[ssfoxrunner]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking that most gel coats would have hairline cracks within a 10 year period.

Edited April 13, 2010 by ssfoxrunner