89 mid cabin swim step bolt leak

[mrrudely]

I have a leak where the bottom bolt of the port side swim step bracket
passes thru the transom.
It looks like I am going to have to grind the bolt and nut from the inside and then
hammer the bolt out.
All of this is inches below the water line.

Can I fix this while the boat is in the water?
My concern is that I don't know why there is a leak.
I believe the bolt is tight, were there washers or packing that failed?
Or is there a crack in the fiberglass?

Any thoughts?
Does anyone know how long of a bolt I need? (transom thickness?)
Is transom solid glass?

thx
rr

[mrrudely]

turns out I was wrong
the leak is coming from the trim tab
not sure what the fix is yet

[prowlersfish]

Trim tab or clynder bolt? A temp quick fix underwater epoxy. If you replace a screw or bolt 3M 5200 quick cures underwater

[mrrudely]

trim tab port side
the part of the hinge that attached to the transom has pulled away 50%
probably pulling out some screws with it
also there is a large hole in that part
Brian at Leveler thinks corrosion, but the large part in the water seems fine

It seems as if these are attached with wood screws going into a glassed over wood block
where the transom meets the hull

[prowlersfish]

Probably is screws going into a wood block. The transom itself is not cored. Best to do the repair out of the water. Maybe fill the holes with epoxy.