transom work

[Imgoodatwhatido]

So me and my partner bought a 1990 Bumble Bee 178 FD. Heres the kicker, it has a 2000 mercury 200hp EFI on it. This motor runs STRONG! The boat is set up safe for now. It has a 10" a pal an the motor is hangin pretty low. The boat doesnt walk or sway and it tracks as true as could be. We got a really good deal on the boat and bought it solely for the motor. It had some really bad transom cracks and a half azz attempt to repair it. The top cap had fell inside the bottom cap, and there was about a 1 & 1/2" gap. I started brainstormin an bein the fabricator that i am, came up with an idea. This transom is now BULLET and BOMB proof. It had threaded rod ran from the backk of the transom up to the rear storage compartments. The rod was bent an loose an was done by someone who had NO IDEA What they were doin. I removed the rods and bolted a treated 2x8 up into the rear of the boat with half inch lag bolts. I used 3 inch diameter washers to spread out the pressure so the fiberglass wouldnt crack. then i installed eye bolts to hook onto . Then i connected the eye bolts to a tensioner using a cable clamp. Then i bolted the tensioners to a stabilizer pen that is bolted to the jack plate. I tighten the tensioners accordingly and it pulled everything together like it should be.




heres a parts list for this if someone was interested in doing it

http://www.tractorsupply.com/agricul...usable-0265189

http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-im...n-zinc-3549532

http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-im...-2-in--3551521

http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-im...n-zinc-3550012

[Embrey]

looks like a bandaid to me...lol. im not seeing how that is bulletproof if the transom is coming apart.

[RyanChur]

looks like perfect things !

[lilmule]

Overpowering a boat and increasing the weight and thrust on the transom are most likly the reason its bad.
My opinion bolts wont hold it and its uninsurable.
Again my opinion but if the motor was worth it place it on a larger better boat not needing repairs.

[Embrey]

Originally Posted by lilmule

Overpowering a boat and increasing the weight and thrust on the transom are most likly the reason its bad.
My opinion bolts wont hold it and its uninsurable.
Again my opinion but if the motor was worth it place it on a larger better boat not needing repairs.

i agree, and if it has come apart like mentioned, i would think it would have a lot of water soaked in there,which can only get worse and more rotten with time. if its moved around that much,those rods arent going to help in the long run. that could actually be pretty dangerous at some point.

[Imgoodatwhatido]

Originally Posted by Embrey

i agree, and if it has come apart like mentioned, i would think it would have a lot of water soaked in there,which can only get worse and more rotten with time. if its moved around that much,those rods arent going to help in the long run. that could actually be pretty dangerous at some point.

I think you have confused the transom as being crack with being completely off the boat. I've never heard of water rotting fiberglass, although i may be wrong. The transom was cracked along one edge, to the right side in the pic. These draw bars pulled everything together like it should be. As to it being dangerous, I just dont see that. Dangerous is a outboard coming off the boat doing 80 mph. In this case that simply cant happen. Now the transom is supported by the rest of the hull. I guess its just one of those things you would have to see in person. Regardless its better than it was, Im not worried bout the motor coming off, and it will pretty much smoke anyones *** that tries to run with it So on the all in all, Im gonna chock it up as a success. Anybody got a better way to do this? If you seen the rest of the boat you would see why we havent scrapped it yet. Ill post pics soon enough.

[champman]

That looks like a good way to keep the motor from coming off in a pinch, but I don't think it is insurable that way and I know if the water patrol here in missouri came up on you with that rig you would have to tow it to the ramp.Don't get me wrong, I'm all about do-it- yourself projects I just feel that a 200 H.P. motor has too much torq to not be supported properly. One thing to know is that the transum has way more support built into it than the storage compartments and water getting into the fiberglass will weaken it. Please wear your life jacket and kill switch lanyard while running for everybodies safety.

[CamG]

From everything I've read, the V-178 FD is rated for 150 max hp. I can guarantee you that if the water patrol (in any state) catches you with a rig like that, there will be a hefty fine to pay, along with a tow bill.

Also, as mentioned before - no insurance company will insure that rig knowing it is overpowered.

[Embrey]

Originally Posted by Imgoodatwhatido

I think you have confused the transom as being crack with being completely off the boat. I've never heard of water rotting fiberglass, although i may be wrong. The transom was cracked along one edge, to the right side in the pic. These draw bars pulled everything together like it should be. As to it being dangerous, I just dont see that. Dangerous is a outboard coming off the boat doing 80 mph. In this case that simply cant happen. Now the transom is supported by the rest of the hull. I guess its just one of those things you would have to see in person. Regardless its better than it was, Im not worried bout the motor coming off, and it will pretty much smoke anyones *** that tries to run with it So on the all in all, Im gonna chock it up as a success. Anybody got a better way to do this? If you seen the rest of the boat you would see why we havent scrapped it yet. Ill post pics soon enough.

no, not confused...inside a transom there is wood most likely,unless its a composite. you cant just rig up a transom like that and call it bulletproof. i wouldnt want to be anywhere near that when you hit something in the water.

[Imgoodatwhatido]

theres so many people in the baSS fishing community that cringe when they hear the word "transom". The fact of the matter is that they CAN be fixed. Once all the sanding and prep is done im gonna re-glass this transom. Then ill reinstall the motor AND the draw bars. If i thought it wasnt safe, I wouldnt put it on the water. I havent even had the boat at full throttle with the trim up yet. I always wear a life hacket and kill swith lanyard. Its a rule for both tournaments i fish and if your caught not wearing those devices at blast off you will be disqualified. As fas as the water patrol, I know a guy with the exact same setup that fishes with us and they have never gave him any problems. His boat is a lot faster than this one tho

[Imgoodatwhatido]

Originally Posted by Embrey

no, not confused...inside a transom there is wood most likely,unless its a composite. you cant just rig up a transom like that and call it bulletproof. i wouldnt want to be anywhere near that when you hit something in the water.

I wouldnt wanna be near any boat when it hit somethin in the water.

[Basscat7]

That is about as unsafe of a boat as you can get.

That transom is shot and all you have done is a mickey mouse attempt at a repair.

Do yourself a favor and either get another hull for that motor , or repair the transom correctly before someone gets hurt bad, either you in that boat, or an innocent boater when that motor lets loose off the back of that boat.

[CamG]

Originally Posted by Imgoodatwhatido

theres so many people in the baSS fishing community that cringe when they hear the word "transom". The fact of the matter is that they CAN be fixed. Once all the sanding and prep is done im gonna re-glass this transom. Then ill reinstall the motor AND the draw bars. If i thought it wasnt safe, I wouldnt put it on the water. I havent even had the boat at full throttle with the trim up yet. I always wear a life hacket and kill swith lanyard. Its a rule for both tournaments i fish and if your caught not wearing those devices at blast off you will be disqualified. As fas as the water patrol, I know a guy with the exact same setup that fishes with us and they have never gave him any problems. His boat is a lot faster than this one tho

I'm guessing your tournaments also require that you do not break the law, and have proper insurance? There is no way for either one of those things to happen with the setup you have. And, just because another guy has the "exact same setup" doesn't make it any more legal.

Imgoodatwhatido must mean Jerry rigging.

[Embrey]

Originally Posted by Imgoodatwhatido

I wouldnt wanna be near any boat when it hit somethin in the water.

yes, but sounds like that one has a really good chance at completely being ripped off the boat already...i thought you said the LAST guy had no idea what he was doing? sounds like you did about the same thing he did...lol

[MississippiBoy]

I agree with Embrey and mule on this one. You haven't fixed anything, you've put a bandaid on an arterial bleed. The only way to make that boat safe is to replace the transom and put the proper size motor on it. Of there was enough flex in the transom to pull away from the cap 1 1/2", you've got some serious structural damage. The transom is built to be a lot stronger than any other part of the boat...you can't expect the storage compartments to take that much of a load. They're simply not designed to do that.

[Imgoodatwhatido]

Originally Posted by MississippiBoy

I agree with Embrey and mule on this one. You haven't fixed anything, you've put a bandaid on an arterial bleed. The only way to make that boat safe is to replace the transom and put the proper size motor on it. Of there was enough flex in the transom to pull away from the cap 1 1/2", you've got some serious structural damage. The transom is built to be a lot stronger than any other part of the boat...you can't expect the storage compartments to take that much of a load. They're simply not designed to do that.

the storage compartments dont have a load on them, they did before, but not now. Its all on the transom.

[lilmule]

If you like the bee and it was a great boat some were composite as well,then trade that 200 for a 150 and boot then use the money to fix the transom proper.
As is if the law dont get ya eventually it will seperate,leaving you without a boat and a motor that needs rebuilding after getting it back off the bottom.
Im an omc man or id be interested.Many would trade a decent 150 for it along with some cash.
Basiclly you used the bolts to pull it back together(not a bad idea)then repair with knee braces and a proper bond as it holds it in place,without repair its not that much of a structual holding addition,,and if repaired no longer needed ,while the top may not give at bottom of motor bracket it may break as it changed the pivot point.And 10 in of setback on a weak transom isnt good either,as it increases the load then a 200 over a 150 youve got about 1 1/2-2 times the torque it was designed for.
Your going to have to swap something or end up with no rig.
Ps there is a guy in texas that runs one that way some states arnt picky,but he did several thousand dollars work on the transom its almost all steel,has it for sale and cant sell it to anyone.

[Embrey]

Originally Posted by Imgoodatwhatido

the storage compartments dont have a load on them, they did before, but not now. Its all on the transom.

if all the load is on the transom, then take those 2 turnbuckle hardware riggings off and drive it then...

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by Imgoodatwhatido

the storage compartments dont have a load on them, they did before, but not now. Its all on the transom.

Ok, I'm confused...one end of each tensioner is hooked onto a pin of some kind on the jackplate, right? And the other end is hooked onto an eyebolt screwed into a 2x8...what is that board attached to?

[Imgoodatwhatido]

Originally Posted by MississippiBoy

Ok, I'm confused...one end of each tensioner is hooked onto a pin of some kind on the jackplate, right? And the other end is hooked onto an eyebolt screwed into a 2x8...what is that board attached to?

I think your the only one who has understood this. The other end is hooked to the upper part of the transom. It is hooked to a 2x8 that runs from one side of the boat to the other, almost 7 feet long. The 2x is bolted in with half inch lag bolts. Ill take some pics today.

[Embrey]

looks like to me you have it connected to the front of the splashwell. the transom is what the jack plate is bolted to...

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by Embrey

looks like to me you have it connected to the front of the splashwell. the transom is what the jack plate is bolted to...

That's my thinking, also. I just wanted to clarify.

Originally Posted by Imgoodatwhatido

I think your the only one who has understood this. The other end is hooked to the upper part of the transom. It is hooked to a 2x8 that runs from one side of the boat to the other, almost 7 feet long. The 2x is bolted in with half inch lag bolts. Ill take some pics today.

There is no "upper part" of the transom. The transom is the 3" (or 4" or 6", whatever) thick piece at the very rear of the boat that the jackplate/motor is bolted to. Anything in front of that is not the transom, it's splashwell or some other part of the top cap.

Whatever that 2x8 is bolted to is not meant to support that much weight and torque. It's solid enough to support people walking on it, and might feel solid when you tug on it or try to stress it. But in no way is that a good idea to rig like that...you're asking for trouble.

I'm not trying to call you stupid or careless, I'm trying to keep you alive.

[carolina-rig-01]

I will give you credit for creativity but dude that is how bad things happen to good people. Like everyone else I am not trying to insult your efforts, but I also don't want to see you are anyone else get hurt. You are setting yourself up for an epic sized lawsuit at best. If that transom was coming apart, you didn't do anything to fix the problem. All you did was throw some wood in there and expect it to carry the load that is too much for the boat in the first place. If that boat was designed to handle a 200hp motor it would have been rated for it. It wasn't designed for it and it probably could handle it if everything was in good shape but the one part of the boat that handles the load is trying to come apart, it's trying to tell you something. The 200hp motor was too much for that transom when it was in good shape, that's how it ended up in bad shape. Now you expect a 2X8 to do a job that the transom couldn't do? Man you are just asking for some serious trouble. Do yourself a favor and fix the transom correctly (if you don't know how then take it to a fiberglass shop), then put the max recommended hp motor on the back of it and fish it forever. Or keep that 200 and buy a boat that can handle it that has no motor then mount it and fish it.

This is how bad things happen to good people!

[Imgoodatwhatido]

I done this thinkin it might help someone who had issues such as this, but it seems that its a lost cause. Ill just let it die. See you fellas on the water hopefully.

[Embrey]

you said it had moved 1 1/2 inches? how could this possibly fix the problem???