1987 170 Striper crack on top transom

[jsakat1]

I got a small crack on the transom of my 1987 170 Striper. The crack is right above the tilt and trim motor mount, almost in a straight line. Doesn't appear to deep. I was told by a friend to dig it out, put some Marine Tex to fill and sand it down.

Any other suggestions, would be great. Do you guys know what could be the cause of the crack?

[RickK]

Can you post any pics?  May be where the cap joins the transom and is a common problem.

[jsakat1]

Will get pics ASAP. It's close to the area. It's in a gap between the top of the transom and the space above the trim and tilt for the motor.

[jsakat1]

Hope this helps and shows through right under in between the motor tilt and trim. It was a bit more noticeable on Sunday when I took the boat out. Right above the hydraulic lift. Left of it its more noticeable as a crack.

[RickK]

That's where the cap joins the hull and normal.  I think I would just seal it with silicone sealer and keep an eye on it.

[LilRichard]

IMO You have two choices - one: yes, you can seal it back up with a marine  adhesive (please use 4200 and not silicone) and that is a bandaid. 

Two, pull the motor and find out why it is cracked.  If the core is good, you can add a little material to it and re-gelcoat, and it will be a permanent fix.

[jsakat1]

Would dremeling that crack out, filling it with Marine tex and sanding it down work?

[LilRichard]

Not really.  Marine Tex, while hard, will not fix the area that is flexing.  You need some strands of material across that crack to make a permanent fix.  If you're going to go that far, the glass is not much more effort. 

Also remember once you get epoxy in there, you will have to use epoxy on any future repairs unless you grind all of it out.  That's not a bad thing, just an FYI.

[jsakat1]

fiberglass material? Sorry for the ultra specific questions as this is my first boat. Any specifics of what material I should use. Do I need to take off the Transom cap? Something like Seacast? Is this a sign that the core is rotten?

Again...sorry for the tons of questions

[RickK]

Check your transom by putting your weight on the lower unit of the motor and bouncing on the motor while trimmed the way it is in the pic.  If you don't see flexing nor do you see compression around the motor mount bolts, then your transom is fine and I would just seal the crack against water intrusion.  This is not a structural thing.
I said silicone because you can get a big caulking tube for a buck and you'll be able to get the tip into that area easily and seal up the crack.  You could get a big tube of 4200 or 5200 also - at about $15 and although a better product, you'll be using 1/1000th of the tube for this crack and you'll have to toss the rest. If you buy a smaller squeeze tube getting the 4200 or 5200 in that small area is a pain- I guess you could use a stir stick or something like that.  Anyway I think I would seal this and go fishing and as long as it remains dry, you can worry about it in another 20 years.
My $.02

[LilRichard]

Jsakat-

Seacast is used when completely redoing a transom - yours may or may not need to be done.  What I was suggesting was just to grind the area and add some material (meaning 1808 or similar) across the crack so that it will not reappear.

If you don't care about cosmetics, seal it up like Rick said and don't worry about it.  And FYI, 4200 is $8 at FGCI.

[jsakat1]

Thanks a lot for the help. I guess that I am going to learn a lot about boats with this puppy I bought.

[jsakat1]

I am happy with my boat; later on with time and money, I will look at the transom and seacast it....I think for now I am going to seal it with 4200

[LilRichard]

I don't know that you'll need to seacast it - that is only if you need to completely re-do the core.  There's a good chance your core is fine.

[RickK]

I am happy with my boat; later on with time and money, I will look at the transom and seacast it....I think for now I am going to seal it with 4200

Now you're cooking - if it ain't broke..... <!-- s:wink: --><!-- s:wink: -->
Seal it up and keep an eye on it. If it gets worse, then we have plenty of people to help here.