Transom Step Repair

Steps down at Folsom Lake, CA

While the boat was stored in California, some damage was caused to the boarding steps that fold down on the port side of the transom. They are supported by two cables and I guess one of the pad eyes broke, causing the steps to twist to the right, cracking the fiberglass along the hinge mounts.

Rusty hard at work

My friend Rusty offered to help with the repair and recently showed up with his new cordless grinder. He proceeded to make a horizontal cut along the damaged area to expose and check what needed to be done.

We discovered that someone had done a previous repair and had simply filled the void with resin and over time the unreinforced resin had broken down into loose chunks about an inch long and a half inch thick. We removed the broken bits and filled the space with resin soaked wood along with glass matting and finally several layers of fiberglass cloth.
The following day we applied a further top coat of colored fairing compound and sanded that down to a point where we can begin the finishing prior to painting the hull.
We'll also reinstall the hinges before painting. The main thing is that the repair is done and the hull integrity was not affected so there should be no further concerns at this point. That's not to say that there no other areas that need work ( there's plenty ) but none below the waterline, and that was my main worry.