Older Lowe splash well

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lowecondor

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Hello all-
I tried to research how to remove the splash wells or maybe I don't need to. Long story short the boat is leaking a considerable amount of water and after re bucking a few rivets I believe it to be the transom and splash wells. Checked livewells and bilge and didn't discover any leaks there. The transom is soft on the starboard side but the motor doesn't move when tilted and doesn't appear to be caved in.
 

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With the boat on the trailer have you put a few inches of water in the boat and looked for leaky rivets?
 
Yes, I filled the boat and it holds water. Then I filled the livewells and plugged the drain on them and no water drains out in to the boat. I tested the boat on Sunday and in a half hour my feet were getting wet so it's a massive leak from somewhere. I'm thinking when planing out and coming off plane the water from the splash wells is running down the transom on the soft side. Anyone else experience this?
 
Leaks are always a pain to find, one thing I would is bring someone with you to drive so you can look around, putting water in a boat will only help if the water level reaches the leak area, one thing I see in the photos a drain for the splash well the outside corner look like a place were water could collect and leak into the bilge area, you could have a leak in the bow too, if you can find a dent puller from harbor freight they help and only a few bucks, place it over a rivet and if it doesn't stick you got a leak, it will only work on flat spots, but it's a lot easier than filling with water. Hope this helps.
 
I bought a bass boat from a tournament angler - fully rigged out.
problem was - he spent all his time fishing and not on maintenance.
You just triggered my memory of one of the plumbing problems.
one of the live well fill pumps had the black corrugated plastic hose that ran
under the rod locker to the live well spray bar.
I kept getting water in the boat just as you are describing.
after pulling a lot of stuff apart, I found the fill pump hose had cracked
and was pumping 50% of the water into the live well and 50% into the boat.
so - troubleshoot all of your plumbing - and at least find a problem or elimate it.
 
Here are a few more pics of the transom and you should be able to see the gap where the aluminum from the splash well meets the transom. I created the problem by not wanting to mount my transducer to the boat so I mounted it to a piece of acrylic and c-clamped that to the transom. Anyway I'm going to try to Life caulk the gap and see if that solves anything. Thanks for the replies so far.
 

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is this the spot you are talking about that has the gap ?
If you want to caulk it and seal it, I would suggest LOCTITE PL Sealant. (aluminum friendly).
It cures as hard as rubber but remains flexible and is waterproof (not for underwater use).
comes in gray color if you don't like the blaring white. It is paintable with any paint.
avoid anything that says 100% pure silicone.
PL Sealant.jpg






.
 
Jonny correct me if I'm wrong but if the top cap for the transom has a gap would you think the transom has shrunk do to dry rot, is the cap 1.5 inches wide, I would look under they splash well to see if you can see the transom wood, and test for rotten wood with a screwdriver or a knife if it pushes into the wood easily you found your problem. I know no one wants to have a rotten transom but it happens I'm fixing mine now. Caulk will buy you some time I guess
 
When your out on the boat try cruising around for awhile before getting on plane and see if your getting water in the boat. If you do it's not from water coming over the transom.
 
Lockndam25 and 2smknbrls -
I share your views equally....... it is hard to imagine that any amount
of water would come from under the loose fitting transom cap.
The transom is soft on the starboard side
and When the OP said the indentation was caused by a clamp, that, to me,
is a red flag that the transom wood could be soft or too thin for the cap .........
and possibly any fasteners going through the hull through the transom panel
could be the leakers.
I would tilt the front of the trailer a foot up above the level line and fill a whole bunch
of water in the stern and see what happens. (put blocks under the stern so it won't tip back).

all kinds of variables exist. troubleshoot one issue at a time to narrow it down.
 
There is no doubt in my mind the transom needs replaced but I don't really know if it's worth the effort/ time to do so on this boat. Does anyone know a price to have this done? I am sure there are a lot of variables but a ball park? It really looks like a PIA to me and I can't weld aluminum so it's not just something I can tackle ( at least the putting back together part :D ). The caulk is just a band aid until I can have the boat fixed or find a good deal on a new to me boat...
 
LoweCondor - what part of the country are you in ?

ball park figure to fabricate a regular transom is about
$2.50 - $3.00 per square foot in materials alone.
if you want to add fiberglass mat with epoxy in the center, add $55.00 to the total.
if your boat is not worth the trouble, consider the transom failing while you are
underway and your boat flounders.
do you have bilge pumps ?
 
Johnny said:
LoweCondor - what part of the country are you in ?

Iowa-

Thanks for the pricing ideas. I have found someone who can weld aluminum very reasonably so I do have an option. It just looks like a big can of worms with the pods and slash wells but I guess I may get some quotes before I decide to tear it apart.
 
I'd go ahead and remove the corner caps and transom cap and see how bad the transom wood is. After that remove all the bolts and rivets that go through the transom wood and try to get the wood out in one piece to use as a templet for the new transom.
 
Just curious if anyone has ever pulled a motor off a boat for a transom repair and left the steering/linkages connected while on a engine hoist? I have never removed one before and just wondering if it's even possible? The motor is an 88 special evinrude. My other question is how hard is it to disconnect everything from the motor? Can I do it without screwing everything up? Thanks.
 
I did had no choice the steering I din't have enough room to slide it out so I pulled the motor then pulled the cable out. My motor is still hanging from the trusses in my garage. Its at the same height so putting it back on the cmc trim will be easy.

I'm doing a transom rebuild now its a little work but in the long run I will know its done the right way and the boat will last another 20 plus years. Just a few weekend and you will have a new boat too, you have a form to help if you have questions. its worth the effort good luck.
 
So I pulled the transom out as it was completely rotten and am now trying to bend the aluminum cap back in to place. Does anyone know of a good method to do so with minimum cracking? Apply heat maybe? I am taking it to the welder tomorrow night so I if it does crack it's not the end of the world. Thanks
 

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heat (anneal) the area to be worked to 700* f. (aluminum melts at 1200*)
once the temper is reached, clamp a 2x4 to the transom as a straight
brace and gently pound over with whatever mallet you have on hand.
if you don't have a mallet - use a 6" piece of 2x4 lumber and a regular hammer.
if you use a regular steel hammer on that aluminum, it will dent and look terrible.
if you don't anneal the metal first, it will surely crack - in several places.
have you made the new transom panel yet ??
if so, do all your heating prior to installing the wood panel.

for a tutorial - google up "annealing aluminum" before you start.
 
Thank you Johnny! That's what I was looking for. Yes, I have built the transom board and it's ready to be installed. I'll post more pics soon.
 

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