Transom Rot??

[Guest]

A friend was looking at a 78 daysailor II and (I have a 73 Javelin) my biggest concern was the major spidering of the fiberglass around the gudgeon bolts, particularly the lower, were the bolts were heavily indenting the fiberglass and the cracks were way deeper than just gelcoat. I know that Javelins have a chronic issue with rot in the transom, but I don't see any mention of it in your site. I told my friend he should not buy the boat without pulling it out of the water and getting that wood inspected. Was this good advice??

John Bock (esbhh-at-aol.com)

[Peter McMinn]

If you're referring to the wood backer plate inside the transom, this is easily replaced. Some months ago, I shaved off the stock plywood (also rotten), and glassed in some composite resin board I had lying around; anything rigid and epoxy-sealed will work.
As for the transom exterior, I know the spidering can be addressed, but I won't pretend to be an expert there.