My Transom Well Modification

[NCangler]

Vic,

You can contact your dealer to receive a kit from Triumph with two roto-moulded plastic inserts (to replace the foam inserts) and a tube of RULE Elastomeric for resealing the voids. I will have some video of the kit in the DVD when it is finished in about a week. Here is the word I received on this from Triumph:

The customer should contact their local dealer to order them. They can ask the dealer to drop ship and some of them will do this. @$20.00 is the price for the two inserts and a tube of RULE with instructions.

[OspreyVic]

Thanks for the information Randy, but after reading all I can about this subject, I have decided to go with the solution others have pioneered before me.

I really like the idea of being able to keep these voids empty, clean, and NOT smelling. I have purchased new stainless steel screws, plus four extra for each side. I plan on using enough Rule to fill in around the edges to help keep water out.

[OspreyVic]

Today we cut the holes in the transom well covers for the plates we had purchased. Also drilled 4 additional holes to attach the plates and opened up the holes at the top so the screw heads would be counter sunk. Now we wait for the Rule to be delivered.

[Codfish]

Vic,

I don't think you will be disappointed in this mod. Once winter is over, I will be taking my plates up and doing a reseal job as both still hold water over time. It is definitely nice to be able to open them up and dry them out though. Keeps the smell away and is not that time consuming to do every few trips.

I find that if I am halibut fishing and having to back troll into the wind and waves, which keeps the transom well full of water all the time, that I will pick up 2-3 inches of water a day.

This second time I too will be sealing around the edge of the factory plate with Rule. I did not do it the first time hoping it would not be necessary. I just don't like the look of gobs of Rule anywhere on the boat. It catches dirt. But it may be nicer than the water and debris that accumulates in the gap.

Can you post pics of the job once you are done? I would like to see how your sealing of the gap looks.

Dave

[OspreyVic]

Dave, I will continue to post pictures as I go.

I am no expert, but have ordered two 10 oz cartridges so hopefully I will have enough.

I do not like gobs of rule around either, but want to at least tell myself that we have sealed it as good as we can.

We even found one screw on the port side that had missed the side, so no wonder water was going in. The tops are not the same size, which to me was funny.

I have been questioning myself about getting more plastic and cutting out larger pieces.

If I have any problem's, that will be my next step. As a reminder, the pry out deck plates need to have a lubricant on the o-ring to make it water tight. We will use what we have for our pool equipment, which is Alladin #651 - 5 oz tubes, Magic Lube II Silicone Lubricant.

Vic

[Codfish]

You are correct on the o-ring grease. I use a silicone based grease that is made for underwater camera seals.

I also found the lip under the gray plate to be too small for the screws to hold good. I am sure that is why I am having to do the job again.

Good luck with yours, Vic.

Dave

[OspreyVic]

OK, we think that the Starboard side is close to done. We want to see if the Rule shrinks any as it cures. If it does, then we will add more around the edges.

Then we can decide if we get the Mineral Spirits out to clean some of the Rule off and make the job look better.

Torn between having Rule cover the screw heads so they don't rust as easy and a clean looking splash well. I have to admit that I am more for ease of maintenance than looks. If we wanted looks over function, we could have purchased a fiberglass boat and spent time polishing.

When finished, the splash wells should hold water on the lids until my day on the water is over and the boat is back on the trailer. Screw heads sitting in salt water? I can see nothing but rust coming.

Will listen to any suggestions.

[Putershark]

[quote=OspreyVic;21204]I have to admit that I am more for ease of maintenance than looks. If we wanted looks over function, we could have purchased a fiberglass boat and spent time polishing/quote]

Guys (and I can hear George chuckling now) don't you even fool yourself with his statement of "looks" versus function... This guys garage is cleaner than some operating rooms, and I would be perfectly willing to let my Doctor open me up on Vic's garage floor and work on me! Ha-Ha...

Trust me, if my buddy Vic has done anything on his boat, it will look BETTER than the factory would have done and would be considered a blue print for future modifications Trust me, I hold a very distant second (more like 10th) to how well something is clean and organized even if my wife calls me a fully "Military Trained" Neat freak! Ha-Ha...

[OspreyVic]

Well the initial install is finally finished.

We ended up with four coats of rule around the outside of the covers. Every time we put down a bead, it would shrink down as it cured, leaving a low spot for water to sit. We ran out of rule with all of our winter projects, so I guess we are finished.

We also covered each screw head with rule so they will not rust.

We might clean up the appearance by going over everything with mineral spirits, after a few more weeks of curing.

Below are the pictures of how they look today.

[k9reno]

geez vic do you even use your boat. It looksl like it has not even hit the water. I would be glad to let you do my transome wells, but the problem I have is the extreme temp changes. The freezing and warming has pulled many of my screwheads right through the cover. I even tried stainless fender washers and they only helped a little....warm weather must be nice.