Replacing A Boat Transom | Grady White Restoration Project! 

You reminded me of 1971, Anacostia River in Washington, DC where my stepdads 28ft cabin cruiser was wintered & your work here reminded me of what we did every spring for 4-5 yrs;; looking for rotten spots, cutting them out, & repairing it all. Then the scraping for the bottom coat that had to go into the water wet. Scrubbing the nasty oily hull was fun as well so thanks for the walk down memory lane. I have no boat but I appreciate all your explanations / reasons for all you did w/ this big job. I'm hoping to build a pontoon this summer but the jury is still out. Thanks for the videos

Thank you so much for the comment! I’m glad we can take you down memory lane! These projects are tough but you learn and they’re worth it in the end. Hopefully you take on that pontoon project and enjoy it as much as we enjoy ours! 🤙

I've been entertaining the idea of building a pontoon style boat, although I may not use pontoons at all in a build I call it this right now.... lol, anything you do for money or yourself is worth doing it the right way & the biggest thing I'm seeing w/ boat related work is that the amount of quality prep work you do will pretty much determine what you get at the end of the day? When you said, "I want it to last".... that was key to what I'm gonna do & expect so anyone not saying these things I will not go back to their work b/c I don't need help in cutting corners in life(or boat work), and in my build there will be a motor so what I saw you do was important. Never know what I'll find in a salvage area & I'd want a transom to be super strong. This was a class video, ty much & for the warning about the "Business" who lacked..... peace Sir

Humbled by your words! 🙏 I truly do this because I love it. And I’m as transparent as I can be. And you’re right it’s hard to find videos where people aren’t cutting corners. The quality of the outcome is 100% reliant on the prep. And I’ll admit I get impatient and try to hurry things up many times. It’s a fault of mine. I’m actually doing a second transom on a 19’ Grady (alieys dad’s boat) trying to put that out next week. We do the same pour but we cut the inside skin this time. And we also use FGCI’s Arjay 6012 transom pour this time with zero issues! It’s a more detailed video than this one imo! Thank you again! 🤙

I know nothing about "glassing boats" or what materials will stick to others making the prep even more important & as you said about the Coosa Boards, you didn't feel sure that it would stick as good as ya wanted so you poured the other stuff. What I believe is that doing a boat correctly is comparable to the work done on aircraft. Both can cost lives and a lot of money if done incorrectly. Aircraft have more rules but what you're doing is already hard enough w/o having a Gov Agency dictating & inspecting every repair. Yep, I'm gonna watch when you do the other boat a 2nd time? That's going to have a lot of learned lessons from you directly. I look forward to seeing that & a transom holds the biggest money part onboard, the engine(s)..... lol, I wanna see.hear what you've learned & thanks again.. peace

Thank you bud we really appreciate that! Thanks for watching! 🤙🌊🛥️

Thank you so much we really appreciate that! Thank you for watching! 🤙

I just found this awesome channel today, I was going to say the same thing. Excellent work, you make it easy to listen to and watch.

Thank you so much! 🙏

THANK YOU! You see, you get it. No way you’re getting All the wood out. If you leave wood bits, they will rot, turn to dust and then you get voids. Pourable transom is a bond that makes all the fiberglass and itself one. It’s not coming apart ever. I think some people are confused with the bond you get with plywood or composite material when you glass it. Even then, I think it’s fine being done from the outside. Brother I’m STILL itching from this job! 😂 thanks for the comment! 🤙

No prob Glenn! Thanks for watching! 🤙

Bad ass Ralph! That transom will last forever! 🤙

Ditto, My pour was back in 2008, using Arjay, and it is solid to this day. I have no regrets, I removed the skin and did the pour as you did, and worked like a champ, great job, now enjoy that Boat.

That’s definitely reassuring to hear! Thank you bud! 🤙

Can you give some more info on how you rebuilt your Mako transom using acid. Did you take pictures or have it recorded? Your way sound much easier than removing the outside wall of the transom.

@@Memo-nd6fj , I took a few pictures, but I'm not sure they would help. The two main stringers are wood covered with fiberglass, too. So I made two large holes (about four inches in diameter) in the transom right where the stringers were, too (at the bottom, because that's how you drain the acid). I then used a long auger type bit, with extensions to remove all the wood in the stringers as far forward as I could. Like wise, I was drilling from the top, removing all the wood from the transom the same way. Then I used long (homemade) wood chisels and everything else until I had removed as much wood as I could. Then, I put flat plates over the two transom holes by the stringers, and screwed then down tight with a bolt and flange on the inside. Then I poured the empty transom full of Muriatic acid (they sell it by the gallon at any hardware/home improvement store. Then I drained it all out the next day. It came out brown and all the wood was gone. Then, I put the plates back on the two holes, and filled the thing up with several gallons of ArJay liquid transom (they changed the name since I did it the first time, but I just did it again with my small fiberglass skiff and bought the same stuff) There used to be a volume calculator on the site I bought it from the first time where you put in all your info and it told you how many gallons to buy. But, it's just basic math and you can do it on your own (order a few gallons than you think you will need if you're not sure of your math), which is what I did on my skiff transom pour. If you accidentally put a hole anywhere in the transom or stringer fiberglass casing, make sure you plug it with marine tex, or something, because the liquid transom is about like pouring molasses, viscosity wise, and will leak out almost any small hole. It will be cured enough to put the motor back on the next day. Give it two days, and take it for a run. I did my Mako 211, with a 200 hp motor about seven or eight years ago. It's still going strong, with no sign of any cracking or structural problems at all. After doing it twice, I would buy a boat I like with a bad transom, with the heavily discounted price you always get, in a second, and rebuild the transom myself. One, a lot of people will almost give away a boat with a bad transom, and two, once you have done the repairs, now you know your transom is good and solid.

That’s awesome to hear! Poured transom is really the way to go if youre DIY! 🤙

@@perfectfitboating agreed.

I’m lucky to have him helping whenever he can. Lord knows he’s done so much for me! Thanks so much for commenting🤙

Thanks for the comment Wayne! I agree. Unfortunately we were pressed for time to finish the exterior of the transom. We had an appointment to mount the motor and all we were able to do was what you saw in the video. I thought I had given us enough time but one delay after another left us with no option. Nothing rushed ever comes out right. Lesson learned! 🤙

I did a few transoms and i put some Peg board panels cut to shape with small spacers between them they will give you a very strong transom also used to use it in the bottom of brine boxes on Prawn trawlers when repairing as they drop stuff and punch holes but with the pegboard and matting and resin no way are they going to brake it again once we did one the mate and i get plenty of work fixing brine boxes and freezer floors.

​@@bobmulder4064What material are the pegboard panels made of please

​@@bobmulder4064What material are the pegboard panels made of please

@@Phantom-mk4kp I am pretty sure it is Masonite. The resin goes through all the holes making it very strong

Awesome John! Love to hear people doing projects like this and having success! Thanks so much for the comment! 🤙

Wow thank you so much for the kind words. We really appreciate that! We try our best! Thank you for watching and for your kindness! 🤙

Awesome George! I’m glad this video could help! If you need help just write us an email! We’re happy to help! Good luck! 🤙

Thank you buddy! We loved how it turned out. It’s been almost a year since the repair and we just got back from a 220 mile round trip with her. Zero issues! 🤙

That’s a good idea but for this product you don’t need to. It has its own off gassing properties that allow the air bubbles to escape. If I were using SeaCast for example I’d use a mallet or something like you stated to help with the bubbles. 🤙

In the shop they size cut 3 new layers and refresh the front and sides and bottom. After filling the middle put a block of wood same size as the hole. And clamp a concrete vibrator on where the motor goes. Then fill the sides. Remove the wood block and tape it. Put holes in the tape. When it starts to come out of the tape seal it off. Top off the sides. But definitely put 2-3 new layers in all corners. The 3” cut is preferred though. But we used a planer a lot for cleanup in and out where we could.

No problem! Just trying to be honest! Thanks for the comment!

Thank you so much for the comment! Working on a boat by yourself is very tough especially doing big projects like this! Youre very welcome and glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting! 🤙

Thanks Joseph! We appreciate you watching and commenting. I’m posting another transom video next week if you’re interested! 🤙

Thanks Mike! Definitely a big job for us first timers! Thank you for watching! 🤙

Thank you so much for the kind words Edward! I truly appreciate it. Just trying to get better with every video. I’m finishing up my second transom to date. Should be done tomorrow and video should be up Monday in case you’re interested in watching! This one’s even better! Thank you again! 🤙

Thank you Alan! Really appreciate that! 🤙

Glad the video helped! Go through FGCI, use their arjay 6011 transom pour, use our discount code and save a decent amount off that order and wait til we put out our second transom vid next week using this product! I’m sure you’ll do just fine! 🤙

Thank you for that. I don’t do this work for a living, this was my first time doing a transom and it was on my boat. We’ve done 2 transoms, the second we did it the way you described from the inside. This pour product also doesn’t allow air bubbles. It has off gassing properties to prevent that. Thanks for the tip with the funnel! If we do anymore that would be useful for sure! 🤙

Thank you so much! Well, I hope they get their act together. For their employees sake, id hate to see their company go under. 🤙

Thank you Jeff we appreciate the kind words! I’m just learning little by little and actually applying it. You can find them out there it just takes patience. Or, do what we did and build it up yourself. We have an informative video on fiberglass coming out today that you’re not gonna want to miss! Thanks for the comment! 🤙

Thank you sir! You can definitely do it! You got this! Just shoot us an email! 🤙

Thank you so much for that! Imo the pour is the best for the diy person. It’s hard to get things laminated in time with the heat down here during summer. If things kick off too soon, you’d have to rip stuff out and start again and that could get expensive. 🤙

That’s so great to hear! Thank you for watching! 🤙🛥️🌊

Awesome Robert! Rot is what most boaters fear on their boats. It’s not the hardest job, just very time and labor consuming. But anyone can do it and save literally thousands! 🤙

Youre welcome Donald! And thank you so much for commenting! It’s unfortunate but I have to be honest. Projects like this take time and money that many of us don’t have. And all we want as consumers is good service. I don’t like to put companies on blast but maybe in this little niche, this video will help make a difference. At the very least, it’ll save others from potential headaches. 🤙

​@@perfectfitboatingI greatly appreciate that, and to think I paid for there sample box and liked some of the products. The heads up is far better than a headache down the road.

Hey Scott thanks so much for the comment! I’m glad to hear your project worked out and you came out unscathed!🤣 I don’t think chainsaws were meant to be used on transoms 😂 Ya know that’s the feeling I got when talking to those guys over there. I’m assuming they don’t deal too much with regular diy guys like ourselves and they deal more with boat manufacturers. They made me feel like I was a nuisance. I guess that’s the state of affairs with these companies nowadays! 🤷🏻‍♂️ Thanks for watching Scott! 🤙

@@perfectfitboating thanks for the reply. Take care.

👍

Thank you buddy! Glad we can help! Thank you for commenting! 🤙

Thank you frank we appreciate that! And thank you for watching! 🤙

Hey Scott thanks for the comment! For the seam I used thickened resin. The stuff out of the can was for fairing. I didn’t think about that steel that’s a great idea. So far no stress cracks and this transom super solid. This liquid also self gassing so there is no need to hit it with a mallet in order to get the air bubbles out like you would with seacast for example. But that’s a very good tip! It’s a HELL of a project! 🤣 we love our Grady and youre right it’s very capable for what it is! Thanks Scott! 🤙

Thank you again! 🤙

You’re right about that! Small batches is the way to go! 🤙🛥️🌊

Awesome to hear! Nothing like not having to worry about the transom failing. I think that might be SeaCast as they’re based in Florida. Thanks for the comment! 🤙

Thanks for the comment! You really can’t go wrong with sea cast! If I ever do another project like this I’ll be using them and I’ll make another video! Good luck! Let us know how it turned out!🤙

Thank you brotha! 🤙

I can see how a narrower transom with the whole cap exposed can be done from the top. That’s ideal! Nothing wrong with mixing some material and adding if youre short. How’s it holding up?

Heck yeah! 🤙

Thank you Jeremy! It definitely isn’t! lol thanks for the comment! 🤙

Thank you is much brother! Most of these older Grady’s are all rotted. I actually have another video where i patched up the fuel tank (not original) and truck bed coated it. I’ll eventually put a new tank in her. Thanks for the comment man! 🤙

Hey bud! Thanks for watching and for commenting. Some of these older boats are filled with foam that absorbs water. And more than likely that water has gotten into the deck and possibly the stringers. It might be time to rip off the floor and take a look at what you actually have going on under there. We have a 16ft flats boat we just took the floor off that was full of wet foam. Check it out on our page! You can follow along with us while you do your boat!🤙

Thank you so much! Glad the video helped! We did another poured transom, it’s our latest video. Imo it’s much better and more detailed than this one. Let us know what you think about that one! Thanks for watching! 🤙

@@perfectfitboating I'm a new subscriber and this one that popped up, I will most certainly binge watch your videos. I used to prep and paint cars but never got to dabble in Glass or Bondo so I'm curious to learn the boating side of things. Fascinating videos. I look forward to more of your content. BTW I'm watching from Alberta Canada.

@one567 thank you so much! I’m by no means an expert or a pro. Just a diy guy trying to save money and showing others how they can do it too. If you were in the car paint biz this will be easy to try. It’s all about the prep! Thank you again! 🤙

Thank you very much! 🤙

Thank you my friend I appreciate the positive comment! Thank you for watching! 🤙

Thanks Todd we appreciate that! 🤙

Thanks Randy! There’s all different types of ways to do it. And they all work. This is just one of them. Imo the best way to diy! 🤙

Thank you so much for the kind words! We actually have another poured transom video I’m getting out next week and you guessed it… I’m a Grady lol. If you’re going to buy a Grady, definitely get a survey done. Unfortunately most older ones have this issue. It just is what it is. Even their early 2000 models had some issues. I believe they finally went away from using wood but not 100% sure. I don’t blame you for not wanting to buy a used one. We knew what we were getting ourselves into with this one. And because we’re doing the work ourselves, we figured it was worth it! Thanks again! 🤙

Thanks! Definitely challenging! 🤙

Thank you so much for watching! Sounds like you caught it just in time. For this size boat, youre looking at right around 1500-1800$. That’s with all the supplies vs 6-8k having it done somewhere. And that’s on the low end. If you haven’t checked out our boat show videos, we confirm your statement of new boat prices being insane 😂🤙

Thank you so much! This was the first time I attempted this so it took forever like 18 days. We did another one which we posted recently and that took 10 days. 🤙

Gracias bro! Este trabajito era bastante complicado y tomó bastante tiempo para estudiar y planificar. Ojalá el video ayude muchas personas! Gracias por el apoyo mi hermano! Un abrazo!

Thanks Larry! She’s a trooper and definitely not afraid to get her hands dirty! She’s had her fair share of bumps and bruises and itchy fiberglass nights! Without her this project would’ve taken twice as long! 🤙

Hey Ian! Thanks for the comment! This is a ceramic pour and it gets HOT!!! Just as hot as the resins. Thanks for the tip! I’m still learning as I go. As a matter of fact we did another transom on another Grady 19’ but we did it from the inside vs the outside. We’ll be posting that soon and you can tell us how we did! Thanks for the comment! 🤙

Thanks William! Just sharing my experience. It’s a shame because their product is very good. Thanks for the comment! 🤙

Imo it’s the best way to ensure you have a solid bond. Unless you’re highly skilled working with fiberglass and have done transoms before. We’ve been using the boat for 3 months now there isn’t any signs of stress, cracking or anything. I would definitely recommend this method for the diy’er.

I did it seven years ago to my Mako 211 transom. It is as strong as the day after I poured it.

Youre welcome and thank you for commenting🤙

That’s awesome! Shipping for this stuff is killer! I believe Arjay and this stuff is the same but I could be wrong. How long ago did you do it and what size boat and motor do you have?

@@perfectfitboating I bought the stuff about a year and a half ago, did my my pour in December of last year. Boat is a 2000 Sportcraft Sport Cat 23 CC with twin 200 HP Mercury Optimax’s.

@@josephwhitehead1692 nice! That transoms plenty strong! 🤙

@@perfectfitboating for sure. And because I replaced it from the inside rather than the outside, the inside skin is reinforced with 1708 and 1/2 inch Coosa.

@@josephwhitehead1692 I thought about doing it from the inside and In hindsight, that’s the better option. Next transom I do will be done that way.

Not with this product… it has off gassing properties so you don’t get those voids and air bubbles! 🤙

Thanks so much Steve! We appreciate the support! 🤙

Hey there thank you for the comment! We’re glad you liked it! Thank so much! 🤙

Thanks man! We’re enjoying her every week! 🤙

Thank you for the comment Dr.! Yes even though it’s sealed, at this point in the process it wasn’t completely sealed. What you don’t see in the video is I opened up the pouring holes on the top to help pour more material. 🤙

Gracias hermano! 🤙

Thanks for the kind words. Believe it or not I don’t like to do that but I feel it’s the only way I can help others from suffering the same fate. We have another transom video coming out next week and we do it from the inside of the boat this time. In case youre interested! 🤙

@@perfectfitboating Totally understand buddy but unfortunately we have no choice in some cases. I'll subscribe look forward to the next project, you have a good educational channel mate nice one 👍

@@switchedon6530 appreciate you man! 🙏

Thank you for watching buddy! 🤙🛥️🌊

Thank buddy! Appreciate you watching and commenting! 🤙

Nothing wrong with plywood if it’s sealed properly imo. Did you have a hard time laying up the glass by yourself ?

Thank you! 🤙

Ya know with the state of affairs we’re in (gas, groceries, living expenses) all high, bad customer service is the straw the broke the camels back. Idk about you but we’re tired of it everywhere we go. We go out less and less and we fix a lot of things ourselves like this video for example. Thanks for the comment brother! 🤙

That’s a good idea! In this case the aluminum edging I put in were coated on the inside with sealant just in case! 🤙

Awesome stuff! Perfect for the diy person!🤙

Thanks Chris! We appreciate that! Came out better than I expected. Thanks for the comment! 🤙

I wish you good luck! But you can do it. Just take your time and prep the best you can. Cover all the holes so you do get leaks. That’s the worst part. You got this! 🤙

Thanks buddy we appreciate that! 🤙

Thanks Jonas we appreciate that! 🤙

Thank you Orlando we appreciate you watching and for the kind words! Just trying our best! Youre very welcome! 🤙

terima kasih atas komentarnya dan terima kasih telah memperingatkan 🤙 hope I said that right 🤣

Definitely was! Thank you so much for the comment! 🤙

Thanks buddy we appreciate that! Thank you for watching and commenting! 🤙

Do you mean like in the deck or stringers? If so, yes. We found plenty of that and replaced it! 🤙

Thanks man! 🤘

Gracias hermano y gracias por el apoyo! 🤙

🤣🤣🤣

Thanks Mike! We appreciate that! Glad you liked the video and youre very welcome!🤙

Hey mark! That’s correct. I filled the gaps with putty, let it cure then I came back and grinded out 2-3 inches out of each side of the cut on a bevel. Then filled with two layers of 1708 and 1 matt. Then I sanded that down. Then faired it with fairing compound. Primer then marine paint not gel coat. Looking back I should’ve gone with gelcoat. I’m extremely satisfied at the results of the transom. I won’t ever have to worry about it again. If I do it again, I’m using arjay from FGCI! Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for the comment.

Thank you so much for the comment! I thought I replied to you when you first commented. I apologize! People have been using plywood and fiberglass for years with boats. In our boat there’s still some wood that is perfectly fine. As long as you prep the surfaces and encapsulate the wood completely you should be fine! 🤙

Thank you buddy! 🤙

Thank you so much! We really appreciate you watching and subscribing! 🤙

Thank you! 🤙

Thanks John! We appreciate that! 🤙

I can tell you the paint is very diy friendly. It sprays very well and it rolls and rips very well too. But it’s all in the prep and I’m too impatient sometimes. It also doesn’t help I’m in south Florida and it’s 90° half the time so you have to work fairly quick. If you’re going to use it, follow the instructions to a T and use the additive that helps with shine and hardness! HUGE difference! It’s not an awlgrip two part paint but it’s great for the price too! 🤙

Yes sir! We’ve put a lot of blood sweat and tears! 🤣

Its a Grady White...gotta take care of good stuff1

That’s right!

Hey Russell thanks for the comment! And great for you for taking on a project like this! Although I haven’t done an I/O before I think the process would be close to the same. Either sea cast or coosa would be a great choice. If you’re confident in getting good laminations then go with coosa! It’s cheaper. Sea cast will guarantee a perfect bond. And that’s why I chose poured over coosa. I just didn’t have the man power, and experience and the weather to do it. Resin kicks awfully quick here in south Florida! 🤣 good luck! Let us know how it turns out. I hope this video was able to help! 🤙

Coosa board or k-cell board 🤙

We’re in south Florida!

Hard to tell. This boat had a fiberglass bracket that weighed maybe 250 and it had a 2 stroke evinrude that weighs maybe 450. Carbon core is lighter than wood. Not sure off the top of my head by how much. But the new four stoke weighs 600. We also got rid of the bracket so I think we’re about the same as when we started. Scuppers stay above the water line even with two people standing at the stern. 🤙