My 242 had a little exhaust leak up the center between the platform and transom. My new donuts came in today so I pulled the platform off to redo the gaskets. After it was off it's clear that it has been leaking for some time. The top cavity of the platform looks like it has burned through and the gel coat on the transom is blistered from the heat. It looks like this happened before on the opposite side and had a repair attempt, the new-er glass is blown out as well.

Any ideas?

Will I run a risk of the transom catching fire if I just get a thicker outer perimeter gasket to contain the exhaust?

I was contemplating running longer tips straight through the platform bottom side.

You need a professional to deal with that. You probably have damage elsewhere you aren't aware of.

Find Glass Dave on this site and have him take a look at these pics...looks scary to me.

It has been a while since I have taken mine off and when I did my transom was fine but the backside of the platform was rotted like yours. Could it just be that the platform was holding so much moisture it did some gel damage just a guess.

Let us know how you make out.

Would the transom rot where the gel coat cracked and exposed the fiberglass below? I'm curious...

So far there I haven't felt any soft spots. The current plan is to run longer tips from the stern straight through the ST platform with some rubber flappers on the end. I may run around with 4 exhaust ports for a while.

Update! With the exception of some trim rings the platform is complete. Transom damage was all cosmetic. Sanded the blisters down then resealed with resin. The old tips were sold and then glassed in. It may be a bit too loud for me so we will see what the future brings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fAoxA07PJo

I like it! nice job and good thinking!

NICE.. i want to do the same thing to mine.. what was involved in doing it? what parts did you use? have any pics of the contstruction

Sorry, I didnt take pics throughout the whole process. It is fairly straight forward though.

Remove platform
remove stock tips
glass in holes from stock tips
Cut holes in platform for new tips
Repaint lower portion of platform (rubrail down)
Buy hardin marine long tips and install

Reinstall platform