1989 Trophy 170 Budget Build

[BWR1953]

...So as you can see below, I am grateful to have been urged to do a complete transom replacement instead of just bolting on a motor and opening it up. I will feel so much more comfortable knowing that the boat is safe and structurally sound.

Cool beans. :encouragement:

 

[Patfromny]

Good job on the tear down. Woodonglass should get his attention and he can answer the old timers question. I would think you could store it but not sure enough to make that call

 

[Watermann]

Oh yeah there's another wasted transom, glad to see you weren't going to be one of the transom rot deny-er types :lol:

You can mix up the sealer and store it sealed in a can for quite a few months I would think the spar would be the issue with it wanting to harden but that's only issue I've had.

A gallon of glue sounds like a lot for 2 laminations but you'll find that the glue doesn't go very far once you start spreading it out. I used 32 oz of TB III on the SS transom with one lamination so better to be safe than sorry if your doing them both at the once.

 

[axlr8]

Another question just to be sure... I am supposed to laminate the plys before sealing anything, correct?? And once the glue is dry, I can seal it with a heavy coat of the Old Timers Sealant, then 2-3 coats of spar urethane and it is ready to be installed.. Correct???

 

[Watermann]

Correct, you seal after laminating.

 

[Patfromny]

You do several coats of old timers and a final coat of spar.

 

[ezmobee]

Moving right along! Wow you can see right where that transom rotted out prolly due to leakage around one of the eyes.

 

[Woodonglass]

The sealer will only absorb about 1/16" on the Flat side of the plywood. That's how thick the outer layer of wood is before the first layer or glue. There for you won't need much for the flat portions. The Edges ARE the most important part to get a good soaking. Keep apply the sealer until it won't absorb any more. This WILL take several coats. Then finish of the Flats and the edges with a minimum of 3 coats of varnish. You Don't have to use spar varnish IF you paint the sealed plywood. You can use regular poly. Spar is used due to it's UV protective qualities.

 

[Watermann]

I test fit the transom and when it's fitted then I mark and drill out the through holes so they can be sealed as well. Sealing the holes and then using 5200 on the bolts will make the holes 100% waterproof. One other detail is I fill any void on the edges with 5200. Yeah if warm enough 5200 will run out so you can have some frog tape handy to put over the filled void to keep it in until it sets. The main voids are the ones on top or the transom where water can sit and soak in.

 

[axlr8]

I had a few free hours tonight, so I decided to go and start actually constructing my new transom.

I purchased a 2 sheets of plywood, both B-C grade Exterior grade, one in 3/4" and one in 1/2".

Added a gallon of Titebond 3 glue, a box of screws to clamp the plys together, and a box of rubber gloves. The total for all of this was just under $100 and I was suprised about that. So after getting home and warming up a few short minutes (It is currently -3* F here, but it feels like -22* F according to the local weather channel) I got to work getting the old transom marked on the new ply and got right to cutting.

I cut both of the outer plys from the 3/4" first and cleaned up the left over scrap to use it later on if need be. Then cut the single 1/2" ply, and proceded to match the 3 up to eachother. Now Alumacraft tried to make this transom more extravagant than it had to be, and I fell for the trick when I cut my plies...

The original transom must have been glued up and trimmed after the fact and I tried to cut the three plies and laminate them afterwards. Everything worked great until I got to the edges of the transom where there was originally a 12.5* angle cut on the verticals, I assume to be able to clear the rivets of the boat...

I managed to fix my mistake, and while it may not look pretty, Its going to work and thats about all that matters for me...

heres a few basic pictures I managed to snap of the process... I did get to play a little bit with the OTWS tonight on a few gunnel backing boards that I cut out. The stuff is a lot thinner than I presumed it to be, but I like the way that it goes on and it definitely is better than nothing at all!

I should have some more updates in the next few days, time permitting...

 

[Watermann]

Yeah looks good to me so far. The transom wood in SC's have a 15 degree angle on the transom that is transferred to the outer edges on OBs and the entire top of the transom on IOs. It is best to cut the angle after lamination so it's somewhat uniform but it's under the SW and or caps so looks doesn't mean anything.

 

[axlr8]

That is exactly what I found out on this boat. I tried to cut 3 pieces all different sizes, but I would be taking 3 of the largest size plys and then cutting the angle after the glue had cured. Oh well, live and learn, it will work well!

I went back to the shop today after letting the laminations set up and dry out, and I found a few small gaps between the plys, so I will have to re glue them and re clamp them to ensure they are completely adhered to eachother.

I am pleased with how it came out this far and will move onto dry fitting the transom and sanding it to make it fit perfect. Then we will move on to sealing the new transom and installing it for good.

On a new note, I am looking into paint that I can use to paint the transom skin, I have been curious if Majic tractor & implement paint would be a good fit for this? I have used the spray cans before and been very pleased with how the finish came out. Is there a certain color that is usually used? Anything colors to stay away from???

 

[Watermann]

Color of the paint used on the inside of transom doesn't mean anything, color is just a solid pigment. Just be sire to prep it good and use an self etching primer first.

 

[axlr8]

I understand that it doesnt mean anything, I was just curious if anyone had any opinion on colors that work well on the transom, and or something that doesnt work well..

I have about 10 cans of the Majic spray paint in black left over from a previous project. If nobody has a reason to not use black, I will go ahead and just use that up on the transom skins.

 

[ondarvr]

If this will form the back wall of an area you need to access, then paint it white, otherwise it will be a black hole.

 

[axlr8]

If this will form the back wall of an area you need to access, then paint it white, otherwise it will be a black hole.

That is exactly what I was looking for! I'll be looking at a few different colors of the Majic paint. Hope to have that painted shortly!

 

[Frey0357]

Axlr8 - Nice boat ya got there! Good thing your replacing that worn out transom. As mentioned (this may be obvious, but...) make sure you get that old timers mixture on the edges of that nice new transom board, but also make sure you pay close attention to all those holes! I used the old timers mix on my transom board and put about 5 coats on the edges and 5 coats in the holes as well. I used a rounded brush that I got from one of the big box stores and just kept doing it liberally until it didn't seem to take anymore. Then put 2 or so final coats of straight spar on everything, turned out great!

Keep at it, it's gonna be great!

I'll tag along if that's ok...

Frey

 

[Frey0357]

....that brush I mentioned looked like this:

Frey

 

[Watermann]

That is exactly what I was looking for! I'll be looking at a few different colors of the Majic paint. Hope to have that painted shortly!

Checking out what others have done here in the forums is the best way to come up with ideas and it helps out with future plans.

Here's my paint job on my current SS project's inner transom skin like you were asking about. I used light gray tractor paint I had left over from painting the outside of the boat. Being as the inside of the transom skin gets covered up with the transom wood color here makes little difference.

 

[mickyryan]

looks brands new!