Metal Fatigue or Stress Failure - Tournament V18

[Mark Hofman]

I was out cleaning my boat today, getting it ready for a trip at the end of the month. Washing it off, I noticed the beginnings of a potential problem.



In my splashwell, I have two drain holes that go through the transom. Both are aluminum metal tubes approximately one inch in diameter, which are flared on the inside of the splashwell and again on the outside of the transom. I think the flares hold them in place, but I don't know if they are actually welded to the transom plates or not.



I stuck a washrag inside to clean the starboard one out and the rag was snagged on something. Looking inside, I could see what looked like three .22 bullet holes. right in the middle of the tube. On the port side tube it there were four. The metal isn't cracked bow to stern and the flared edges are intact. But in the middle of each tube it appears that some kind of flexing caused the metal to buckle a bit and then pop open in three or four spots.



My first concern is that this could be the first sign of a bigger problem. If so, how do I arrest it or correct it? If it is a bigger problem, what could it be?



My second concern is how to go about fixing the tubes so that water doesn't get into the actual wood part of my transom and begin to cause rot? Right now I don't detect any sign of weakening.



If anyone has a contact at Tracker (or if Nathan Long reads this), I would be interested to hear what Tracker Marine's recommendation would be. I realize this isn't a warranty issue because it's a 2001 boat, so I'd have to pay for repairs. And if any other Tournament V18 owners or Tracker aluminum boat owners have experienced the same problem, I'd like to hear from you.



Thanks for taking the time to consider this.



Mark

 

[Greg Meyer]

Mark,



Are the holes actually "round"...? I'm thinking about this... I think you might be able to purchase repleacements made of threaded plastic.... would that work...?

 

[Mark Hofman]

I thought about that, Greg. Yes, the holes are actually round. But the drain holes are too close to the splashwell deck. The threaded plastic thru-hull fittings wouldn't have enough of a gap between the bottom of the round hole and the splashwell deck to fit.



I'll try to post some pictures. I may also drag the boat over to my local Tracker dealer tomorrow and see what they tell me.

 

[Mark Hofman]

I think I found the answer. I can get drain tubes from Moeller that looks like this:

but I'll need to find or buy a special flaring tool from Hamilton Marine that looks like this:

Apparently, after doing some research, this isn't as bad as it first looked. If this kind of stuff is available for purchase over the internet, these must need to be replaced more often than I thought.

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Hmmm, now I have to go out and check mine. Thanks for the heads up Mark.



Ok, just went out and looked. I have 2 cylinders, 1 main that is flared and 1 smaller that is about 3/4 the length that fits inside the main hole.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Okay, I ran the boat over to The Fishin' Hole and John, the staff member who worked with my father-in-law on his boat purchase, took time away from his lunch to give it a really good looksee. The transom is still sound, with no evidence of buckling. John really rocked the motor, and then had me do it too while he looked at the transom and motor mounts. The cause of the cracked tubes is still a puzzle, but they have the tools and skill to do the replacement. That's good.



One thing John told me that I hadn't thought about. He asked if I had tightened the motor bolts recently. Honestly, I hadn't thought about it. So when I got home I took a wrench and sure enough, they weren't loose, but they weren't completely tight either. I really cranked on 'em. Maybe there was just enough play to flex the transom and stress the drain tubes. The metal on those tubes isn't that thick, at least it isn't as thick as the hull material (.100 I think).



Long story short, if you haven't checked your mounting bolts in awhile, it might be wise to take a 3/4-inch wrench and give 'em a good turn to see if they've worked loose a bit. May save you some trouble down the road.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Keep us posted... I was thinking about the plastic fittings and wondered if you couldn't still use them by flattening a "chord" across the bottom so they could fit flush to the surface of the splashwell. Plastic (actually a nylon, I'm sure) would flex and not fatigue... and if sealed well with silcone... any potential for water damage could be put to rest...

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Mark...

You still have wood in your transom?

Didn't they go to all aluminum at some point?

I know there's wood in my 2000...I've already drilled into it!



az

 

[David Heine]

I have the same problem on my boat, only I cannot access the drain plug as my engine is in the way and the only way to access the backside of the drain plug would be to take the engine off the boat. I have yet to find a way to fix this problem.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Andy,



Yup...I don't think they went to an all-aluminum transom until 2004 or 2005. My boat's all-welded, but it still has the wood inside the transom.



Greg, I may have to go out and buy a couple of nylon through-hull fittings just to play around with. Good thinking.