Fixing plywood transom

[wallacethegreenmonster]

What would you guys do with this? I have debrided back to what seems like less mealy wood but now there is a significant gap and it seems like it is in a tough place to patch up. What remedies, wood, epoxies etc should I use, or am I completely toast here? Thanks, Wallace

[Mike Vogdes]

Need more info... What and where exactly is the problem?

[brad9798]

Yea, do you have any pix you can post?

Above waterline? Below? Chine? Hard to say ...

[Bob Cleek]

Just guessing here, but we are talking about a transom, right? Forget debriding down to "more or less mealy wood." If it is rot (what else?), it is going to infect the surrounding wood. It's like cancer, you gotta get it all out or it just keeps growin'. Fortunately, you're dealing with a transom.

Mark an area well clear of rot. (Not just sorta clean, but clear solid wood.) Mark your lines on a framing piece, if you can. Take a circular saw and cut only a smidgen less than the thickness of your ply. Then take a sharp chisel and cut it free. (You'll probably need to remove some fastenings.) Remove the punky "plug." Replace with another piece of plywood of the same size and shape. (Save your waste piece as a pattern.) Fasten the piece to the frame (as you also must fasten the old cut side, if it's no longer supported.) If or where you don't have a frame to lay it on, put another backing piece of ply, epoxied on over the seam inside the boat. Finish the patch with epoxy and fair.

One plywood tansom, patched right up!