TRANSON ISSUE

[ROLAND]

Hey guys, not real sure how to describe this, but I got a call from my son last night who lives about 135 miles south of where we live. Said he had his boat ( benny 2275RL ) out on the lake the other night, was in the water swimming and said he noticed there was something really strange about the way the boat looked from the rear.... best I can describe, he said there is a piece of sheet metal that runs beneath the boat and is bolted to the cross members and runs back and is attached to the transom... anyway part of the " pan " was hanging down on one side and he noticed that 3 or 4 of the bolts that are supposed to be attached to the pan from the bottom of the boat, had actually "torn" thru the metal and the pan was just hanging on one side.... he said the next time he is at his boat he will take some pics and send them to me, I'll re-post them when he does ).. anyway he knows some guy where he lives that is supposedly really good on working on boats - guy's going to fix the damage which from what I understand will include some sheet metal fabrication, welding, etc... says he will have to take the motor ( yammy 115 four stroke ) off the boat to do the repairs.... cost to my son, between 700 and 800 dollars.... he told my son that part of the reason that this damage took place was due to "stress"... stress from the boat ( 5 years old ) slapping against waves, stress from hitting bumps and what not when trailering and stress from the weight of the motor... next thing he told my son, " you should always use a transom saver " when towing... now that opens up an old discussion from some time back... to use or not to use transom savers.... when I bought my boat, I was told by the bennington dealer " not to use a transom saver "... was told to trailer with the motor trimmed all the way down.... Now I have see a few pontoons at our launch using transom savers, but for the most part, most of the toons do not... what's the general feeling among you experienced boaters... do you use one or not. I'm now thinking about getting one, but my issue is where the transom saver would go on my trailer.. there are lights "centered " right where the transom saver would go ( see pic )... what do you guys think...



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[Bamaman]

Sounds as if your son needs to return his boat to a Bennington dealership to see if this is a valid warranty claim.

[Bamby]

Sounds as if your son needs to return his boat to a Bennington dealership to see if this is a valid warranty claim.

+1

[gramps]

I say warranty claim. Don't touch boat until the dealer looks at it.

[kryptonite]

I use a transom saver if I trailer more than a couple miles. That's a lot of weight back there hanging. I can't see any negatives about using one... unless someone can chime in differently.

[BoatCop]

Bennington has a 5 year bow to stern warranty and lifetime deck and structural warranty.

Don't let anyone do anything to it until inspected by an authorized Bennington dealer or factory rep.

[HandymanHerb]

YEP

[bassn386]

Mine was hauled by the dealer about 110 miles and there was no transom saver on it when I saw it for the first time at a gas station where I got to fill 'er up for the first time. It had about 5 gallons in it, so I got to add 50 more. Had to run the card twice to allow for the cut-off.

[sgpwayne]

I use a transom saver all the time. my boat is 6 yrs old and I have never had a problem with it. Depending on your light bar, mine is centered directly above the lights. The one thing I noticed about your boat is that you are not using rear tie downs. BIG MISTAKE A sudden stop, a hard swerve, even a big bump in the road and the boat will come off the trailer. just my .2.

[sgpwayne]

took a second look at your pix. The bracket for the transom saver will fit directly above the center lite on the frame

[MichaelB]

I have two straps on the front, bow eye bolt hooked to winch, transom saver, and another strap around motor holding it down tight against transom saver. The whole rig will flip before anything comes off. A year of trailering with the motor up and no saver resulted in transom cracks for me.

[Bryden24shp]

Yep, thats where I mounted mine on the Manitou, right above the light bar. I don't run one on the Premier because the Verado transom mount/steering pivot is super heavy duty. And can be trailered lowered all way. I never use the factory trailering bracket, because I have seen this happen too many times. After I put the jackplate on, I probably will use one, just because of the added weight on the transom, and the fact that the motor will be mounted 6" behind the transom. Same reason I used it on the Manny. Just an added precaution.

[screwball]

My Sun Tracker came new from the dealer with a transom saver. Had then on all my outboard boats.

[ROLAND]

Thanks for the input guys..... and I agree with you guys... I told my son he should take it to take it to a Bennington dealer / shop...... and at least see what they say about the warranty with his particular issue.... I'll have to wait and see what he does.... also sgpwayne... I agree, I've been meaning to get some straps for the back end, but just haven't done it.. no excuses... absolutely on my "to do" list..... as for the transom saver, from what little I've read, I can't see where it would do any harm... I"m pretty sure it wouldn't hurt the motor, or the brackets to tow it with the motor trimmed up as long as it's resting on a transom saver. which brings me to my next question... any recommendations... I started looking at them on line and there are a variety of them.... how long does it need to be? angeled or straight? Spring loaded or not? Brands? and is there any way it would hurt the motor or the boat to haul with a TS? I know that may sound like a stupid question, but when the dealership tells you on day one you don't need a TS, it is kind of confusing to those of us who have never used one... again, thanks to all for the input.

[Bryden24shp]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roller-Bracket- ... ltDomain_0

This is what I use, pretty universal, roller or mount for trailer.