re: Transom help

Would suck if there's a board in there. I don't see a reason to have a board reinforcing in an aluminum boat, but it's done.

In the old glass boat we had, the transom rotted so my dad cut out the cap where the board was, pulled all the rotten stuff out, replaced with angle aluminum to reinforce it, and then patched over the cap where he cut with more glass and resin. Looked ugly but when the rest of the wood in the hull rotted and it was full of soft spots, the transom was still rock solid.

I'm not sure how a shop would approach fixing it in an aluminum boat. I know it's a couple grand in a glass boat, but that's because they have to take the cap completely out of the hull and replace the rotten stuff.

Whatever you do though, don't replace wood with more wood. Use aluminum or some kind of composite.