Just bought a 95' nitro 180 fs. No stress cracks anywhere looks brand new, has a 115 merc. The motor was loose, when I tightened it up it felt as if the gelcoat outside glass layer was delaminated from the wood. Is this common for older Nitro's and does it mean I have a rotten transom?If so what is a good fix? The boat has less than 200 hours on it. Thanks for any ideas
Transom delam?
- Thread starter strue
- Start date
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That's gonna be bad and very expensive to fix unless you have the skills to do it yourself and it'll be very time consuming. Doesn't matter how many hours is on the motor, its how it was cared for that matters in this case and should have been covered when not used. This delamination is common when the boat isn't properly protected or maintained.
Scott Hammer TOXIC
Well-Known Member
First off welcome, second, let's try and figure out what we are dealing with. What made you think the transom was bad? Trim your motor up and try to move your motor up and down and side to side. Is there any play beyond the steering? If there is, can you take the transom cap off? If you can check out what is underneath and if there are places for water to get in (you will have to re-seal if it is ok). The other option is to drill a small hole in the transom to see if the wood is bad or water seeps out. If you want to hit the easy button, take it to an expert. You do not want to operate the boat if you have a bad transom.
There is no play beyond the steering when the motor is moved. The boat has always been stored inside. The two lower motor mount bolts were loose( there was 1/4 inch of space between the motor mount and the transom when you pulled up on the motor) so I tightened them, when I did it felt like it pulled the outside gelcoat layer into the wood core. Kinda like there was a space there. That's why I thought it was delaminated.
Scott Hammer TOXIC
Well-Known Member
Very good. I'd pop the transom cap and see what's in there.
Took the motor off. Gutted the bilge area, cut the outer layer of glass off the inner side of the transom and... its all mulch in there. I'm in the process of cleaning all of the mulch out and replacing the wood and glass. I think I'll make it stronger so IO can up the horses a little. Any idea on how thick the glass needs to be on the transom?
Steve
Steve
If I'm not bad mistaken I did a lot of review on that process a couple or so years ago and I think it's like 1/4 in or so but don't hold me to it. Review these articles and you be the judge,, but its gonna be a LOT of work.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=283
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=283
THOMMO59
Well-Known Member
I would be very keen to know what actual material Tracker / Nitro use in their transoms.
had similar problem 99 700 dc,transom cracked at bot. motor bolts,repair shop wanted 5000 to fix,cut back 4 feet of top and removed,replaced wood with marine plywood glassed in,bolted in two braces to floor,transom stronger now than it was new,cost me 200 counting chain hoist
