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One of my brothers and I are sailors. Each of us has a catboat. We use them primarily to sail out to the beaches in Chatham, Mass. Our wives reluctantly do sail with us on occasion, but they much prefer motoring to the beach with my other brother in his 22' Aquasport.
It was the last week of June 2003 when I happen to see a fully restored 1969, 19' Mako with a 2000 fuel injected, 150 Evinrude. The perfect boat for my wife and sister-in-law to motor to the beach on their schedule. And of course, a great platform for fishing stripped bass and blues off shore or on the flats.
I purchased the boat just before the 4th of July, from two young fellas, John and Todd, who just happen to work at one of the largest marinas on Long Island sound. They spent the entire winter restoring the boat as well as the engine.
The boat was trailered to Chatham, launched and put on its mooring in front of our summer home. The Mako was used for about 15 minutes. The following day my wife, sister-in-law and I were rowing out to the Mako, when my wife noticed a rather large crack in the transom. The outer layer of the transom was pulling away from the hull.
Needless to say we were somewhat surprised. And disappointed. We spent the weekend sailing. The boat was returned to Brewster, NY. Either John or Todd could fix the transom or they would return the money.
I was really hoping they could fix the transom...
John and Todd cut away the transom following the profile of the hull.
Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of the transom showing the rotted plywood. After more than three decades of being wet and then dry there was virtually no solid plywood left. For some unknown reason the wood inside the two stringers was fine. The mess looked very similar to the other transom projects on this site.
While the transom was open, John and Todd installed a bilge pump as well as adhering, with glass and epoxy, supports to the stringers, which would also provide backing for the new plywood. They used epoxy to bond two sheets of 3/4" marine plywood together as well as encapsulating the entire piece.
