There is a 1983 ranger for sale in my area, and would like to turn this into a project. It is for sale at $1000. It says it has a weak transom. What does this mean? Also what kind of outboard can I put on it? How can i figure this out? And, is this worth doing? Im a college student on a real tight budget, so I don't have much to spend. There is also a 1989 Mercury 135 Blackmax (oil injected, V6) outboard, that im thinking about putting on it, is this possible? Also the guy said he would replace the powerhead because it is siezed. This is $400.

Can this workout. I don't have much knowledge about boats. So sorry about the questions.

the transom is the back area of the boat where the motor mounts. if its "weak", its started to rot out and needs to be replaced.

i dont know a lot about the topic but i know its never an easy fix. a while back there was a thread where one of the member used an epoxy i believe to rebuild their transom. id be scared of the stringers as well, they could be getting soft.

as far as motors, youll just have to make sure whatever you strap on the boat doesnt exceed the boat rating.

you might be ahead looking at something else.

A few more questions:

How much would it cost to repair the transom?

Where else can I find boats with no outboards?

Will it be easy to hook up the livewell and what not? Its an old boat.

Is the 1983 build a good one?

Find another boat.

haha ok. My search will continue!

A transom replacement, if you're not going to do it yourself, can cost over $2,000....   Sounds like that boat should either be parted out or sold cheap to someone who knows how to replace a transom.

You can find old Rangers with motors and solid glass transoms (1988 or later)  for not much more than that if you look hard enough.

Correctly repairing the transom will run3,000-4,000

Powerhead will run around 3,000

Way too much money to put into a boat this old.

There are several ways to do-it-yourself on the transom, they all will require cutting the top off the transom cap.  There are a couple non-wood solutions, Seacast is one, to make the repair but you're looking at around $500-600 to do it right.  You could redo it with wood for less than half that but the job will be more intensive and you'll need to know something about fiberglass work to finish the job right.

I think I'd look for another boat.

you think you're on a tight budget now? wait till you go messin around with an older glass boat & a used outboard.

Get a tin boat that's structurally sound, find a good late model outboard & put it on. You may spend a little more money up front, but you'll save loads down the road.

Try a dealer for a used outboard, there's a (small) chance they may give you a limited warranty, maybe 30 days? At least you'll have some type of protection, rather than gettin boned on ebay.

If you go this route,the only problem you'll likely encounter is 'glass boat ***. Although painful, I hear it's curable.

walk away from that purchase.  i just bought a 1986 bass boat and i had to redo the floors which wasnt bad at all, but the boat came with a perfectly working motor and the transom was very strong.  i only pain $2,000 for everthing.  $1,000 seems like a rip off.