Transom Cap Mess

[croaker stroker]

I decided, since the motor will come off the transom, I would replace the old aluminum molding. The aluminum rivets had been replaced with stainless screws by previous owners and the screws eaten holes in the molding. 

I discovered that the gap between the hull and top mold was 1/2"+. In some areas original rivets missed the fiberglass. 

The 1/2" gap was filled with silicone which worked loose over time.

[HalfCaff]

Crappy.  I have looked at mine and wondered how well it is sealed.  This makes me not want to touch it - ignorance is bliss!  Sorry for your trouble, do you have a remediation game plan yet?

[gliderflyer]

I'm literally at the end of the same project today. I fiber glassed those gaps from the inside with lots of csm and fabric. I then got some color match gelcoat at Fiberlay and redid the whole cap area. I bought some of the newer type cap material from Defiance and just installed that today.

[Tom C]

I've dealt with this as well. Arima did not connect the side of the the transom cut out between the hull and the liner.

I used epoxy and cloth to bridge the gap, including along the top of the transom. The result is a waterproof seal all the way along the cutout, and now the aluminum trim is just that, cosmetic trim.

[Tom C]

Here are some photos after the repair, before trim reinstallation:

[croaker stroker]

Here are some photos after the repair, before trim reinstallation:

Thanks. Those pics should be helpful. I wish I could do the fiberglass repair myself, but I am probably going to have to pay the shop who is rigging my new motor. 

[Tom C]

It was not a difficult repair. I just improvised with some stuff I had. I only bought some 2" 'glass tape at West Marine.

For epoxy I used West System Six-10, which comes in a standard cartridge to fit a caulking gun. It is a gel, so it does not sag, and can be used on vertical surfaces with relative ease.

The clever part of the repair was that I created a mold over the gaps on the outside by using some flexible drywall corner that I taped in place after first wrapping the drywall corner in waxed paper as a mold release.

With these molds set up, it was just a matter of squirting the epoxy into the void from inside the boat, on hands and knees, first one one side of the splashwell, then on the other. I then laid the 'glass cloth tape on top of it and then tooled it with a fillet tool until it was saturated, adding more epoxy if needed for full wet-out.

Along the top of the transom there was some separation, so I expanded it as much as I could with wedges, then injected epoxy into the voids, and along the exposed core, then brought them back together (you can see the upper motor mounting bolts helping to clamp the skins back to their original positions.)

I had taped a screed on the outside of the transom so I could use a putty knife to trowel a perfectly flat surface, then cleaned it all up after it cured.

My goal was to not grind outside the area the aluminum trim covered, so did not have to mess with any gel coat repairs. It worked out well.

[Fisherdv]

New motor? What are you going with?

[HalfCaff]

It was not a difficult repair. I just improvised with some stuff I had. I only bought some 2" 'glass tape at West Marine.

For epoxy I used West System Six-10, which comes in a standard cartridge to fit a caulking gun. It is a gel, so it does not sag, and can be used on vertical surfaces with relative ease.

The clever part of the repair was that I created a mold over the gaps on the outside by using some flexible drywall corner that I taped in place after first wrapping the drywall corner in waxed paper as a mold release.

With these molds set up, it was just a matter of squirting the epoxy into the void from inside the boat, on hands and knees, first one one side of the splashwell, then on the other. I then laid the 'glass cloth tape on top of it and then tooled it with a fillet tool until it was saturated, adding more epoxy if needed for full wet-out.

Along the top of the transom there was some separation, so I expanded it as much as I could with wedges, then injected epoxy into the voids, and along the exposed core, then brought them back together (you can see the upper motor linking bolts helping to clamp the skins back to their original positions.)

I had taped a screed on the outside of the transom so I could use a putty knife to trowel a perfectly flat surface, then cleaned it all up after it cured.

My goal was to not grind outside the area the aluminum trim covered, so did not have to mess with any gel coat repairs. It worked out well.

Damn it you are not helping me pretend that this isn't a possibility on my boat.  I really don't wanna go there.  But the motor will probably be off sometime in the next month.

[Tom C]

New motor? What are you going with?

This was back in 2022. I put an F70 on it.

[Omega3]

This was a topic a few years ago if I remember correctly,Svinny or something like that found it on his boat and seems that the older hulls had it.My 2005 is tight and glassed completely.I said it then and will say it now nothing about that says quality or pride in workmanship.

[croaker stroker]

New motor? What are you going with?

[GregE]

Nice profile pic-  what HP is it?

[disposable]

Mark, I'm stoked for your repower and I'm sure this will work out. Some epoxy+filler+glass mat should do the trick. Every shortcoming is an opportunity to improve the boat so I'm glad you found it and sure it'll turn out awesome.

But in general, I'm with omega: this factory has farted out some bad bad work over the years. Who on earth would look at that and say "yup, I will put my name on this and stand proudly by as a young buyer loads their kids and heads toward the horizon"?! I feel the arima hull is one of the best designs in the game, but I really wish someone would build one solid, from the hull up.

[croaker stroker]

Nice profile pic-  what HP is it?

Nice profile pic-  what HP is it?

90hp

[Yachter Yat]

   I can explain this:  You see, Donny Gross just happened to be on vacation when Croaker's boat was being built.   Hey....can you imagine what the "guts" of a "new" Arima might look like?  

Yat 

[croaker stroker]

I can explain this:  You see, Donny Gross just happened to be on vacation when Croaker's boat was being built.   Hey....can you imagine what the "guts" of a "new" Arima might look like?  

Yat 

It is ugly, but it has lasted 37 years and still going strong. Maurer Marine will fix it and I'll be out fishing again soon. 

[markymark]

I wish you guys would slow down on finding problems. I haven't even got around to addressing my bow eye... 😂🤣

[Omega3]

Anyone suffering from the "why is there water in my bilge syndrome?"might want to inspect under that transom cap.Arima transoms before 2013 were made with sandwiched CDX plywood not known for moisture and rot resistance.

[croaker stroker]

I got a chance to scrape away some of the silicone. The top of the core of the transom is hard resin of some kind. I'm relieved that I did not find punky wet wood. It appears to be well sealed. 

The open sides would not cause much of a problem either since any slight leaking past the trim molding would just go into the bilge.

[Tom C]

Looking at the screw heads of the screws Arima used to tie the liner to the hull and transom core, I forgot to mention this is an excellent opportunity to remove them, countersink the holes just a bit more, and reinstall new ones bedded in epoxy, being sure to cover the heads. This will prevent to dissimilar corrosion that eventually ate through my aluminum trim in one spot.

If the old holes are stripped, drill new ones so the screws can grip, in addition to filling the old holes with epoxy.

Really, this is the time to detail that joint and it's not that big a deal to do it properly.

[Tom C]

Where your screwdriver is in the photo, you're touching the resin the boat hull is made of, but that trough it creates is a natural place for water to collect. That is why I topped mine off with the epoxy.