I recently got a 1442 jon boat that the previous owner used for bowfishing. It's got no hull ID so I guess it's older than 1972. It has unusally wide sides that are filled with foam. It's pretty heavy for a jon boat, but very stable in the water. I was told that someone in the past put too large of a motor on it and it cracked the transom on each side at the top. I was also told that it had been welded so I thought it was no biggie. It's got a 1964 Evinrude 18 hp motor on it and on my first ride on the lake the cracks reappeared. I'm wondering if I get it welded again if this will keep happening. The wood of the transom are two planks running across (which I don't really like) but they don't seem to be rotted. The bottom one is attached to two braces and the top one has the motor clamps on it. It seems to me by doing it that way, the braces don't help all that much. My other issue is that there are several areas on the bottom of the hull that have been patched with who knows what (it doesn't leak at all though). There also seems to be large areas of the hull that has a rough texture and in some places looks porous or spongey. I don't think it's corrosion from the pics I've seen of actual corrosion but I'd like to know what it is. Maybe some kind of epoxy liner that is severely aged? Thanks for any and all help.