I do have to say that two bars running from the top of the transom to the stringer will point load the force at that spot. This will cause near catastrophic damage. You need to construct knee type stringers if you are to go down that road.
The best thing is to make it a full transom with a bracket.

Support Bars
 

This boat has welded brackets to the side of the splashwell from
the top edge of the transom. It has a full plate on the outside of
the transom and the top edge is a full welded cap. Was only
thinking of running (2) bars directly forward from the brackets
to the back seat bulkhead which should have a little flex. Did
your V8 boat have an external plate added such as Air Dogs
did on the boat he sold to the guy from Somerset? What you
suggest is the right way to go but unfortunately I don't have the
$$$ to do this. This boat may be a great project for someone
else who has the resources. Who knows....we'll see.

keep the faith george,you will get her done in due time.

Either I'm getting old or I have owned too many banana boats.

Which one is the guy from Somerset?

It's the one that he repainted yellow. I saw it at Dave Parker's
in Bristol RI having some engine work done on it. Had a Yamaha
on the back with a full plate attached on the outside of the transom (nice installation). I think you mentioned on another
thread that he blew up the engine and replaced it with the
Yamaha. It has something painted on the sides but I can't
remember what it was. Former Monkey Business...right?

Yes, that would be my first banana boat "Monkey Bizness" alright.

I dragged that thing all the way down to his house and blew out my tranny of my old Jeep on the way.

Nice guy. He painted it yellow? Love to see a picture if you have any.

I installed a steel beam on the inside of the transom at the top of the motor well for extra strength when I had a V8 Johnson outboard on it.

That boat was super clean.

I proposed to my wife on an Island off of Boston that we took Monkey Bizness to get to and a year later we left our wedding in Chatham by in that banana boat and went to Martha's Vineyard for the honeymoon.

My brother and another friend decorated the boat during the wedding before we left. They wrote all over it using this crap that took me two days to compound off the hull.

Ah the memories...

I do belive we called her the SS Henpecked. I do think think we wrote the right name on her side. :lolhit:

If your on a budget. Why not tune the mercs & run it as is? Tailor it to your wants & needs in the future

I got a chance to stop by George's house this week and take some pics and check the boat out. The hull is in great shape, motors are all there with plenty of spare parts!
Someone looking for a Banana to restore this is a great candidate!

what kind of price range?