1996 SS transom leaking

[Mr.O]

I've got a 1996 supersport thats got water coming in to the boat in a few places thats corresponding to the rail on the transom that the supports the swim platform. I don't know if this fix is as easy as sealing up the rubber strip with silicone, or if i need to remove it. The strip has visible screws that secure it to the transom. I don't want to open up a can of worms by taking out these screws if i don't have to.

[bchesley]

RE: 1996 SS transom leaking

How much water is it? If its just a little let the bilge pump take care of that. If it is a huge amount then the rear strip will come off and expose the factory caulk and seal. It is probably dry and seperated. The rub rail on the sides is also not that hard to get off. You have to take the end cap off and pull the center rod out. Then just a screw at a time. The factory uses a black caulk that looks like just a regular exterior grade roofing sealer.

[Mr.O]

yeah, its quite a bit of water. after seeing what water in the boat did to my old wood stringer supra, i can't leave it and sleep at night.
will those screws strip out putting them back? do they just self tap right into the transom, or are there threaded inserts? this is the can of worms i was talking about.

[TRDon]

luckily you can sleep just fine knowing wood stringers we not used after 1992 so your stringers wont rot and you wont have to worry.

[bchesley]

They will not strip when you take them out. It will be easy to use the same holes. When i did my rub rail I used some of the factory holes with new screws with no problems. Just dont over tighten them with you put it back together.

[DanielC]

In 1997, Wakeboarding started to become big, and that is when boats started adding ballast tanks, towers, and decals. They also started to seal the transom better, and higher.
The Super Sport was introduced in 1995. When the Super Sport was introduced, it was not thought that people would deliberately weight down boat and sink then to create a bigger wake.
When you weigh down the boat, parts of the transom go under water that were not intended to, originally.
Boat Life Life Caulk can be used to reseal your boat. The rub rail can be worked into position easier if it is warm, or hot. A heat gun can be used to heat the rubrail up more, if you need to make a sharp curve in it.
When starting screws into old holes, turning them backwards one turn will let the screw find the old threads and then the screw will follow the old treads, and not cut new threads. Putting the rub rail screws in too tight will cause the rub rail to look bumpy at each screw.

[Mr.O]

thanks guys