1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

[jrenneker]

Hey Guys,

The first thing I have to say is thank you to everyone on this webpage who have replaced their transoms and all the helpful information you guys share. If I didn't come across this website and all your info I wouldn't be doing this repair. Anyway.. This is a boat that my Dad use to own and sold to another party. It was a great fishing boat but the reason we got rid of it was because of the transom. Dad figured there was no way to fix it so it went up for sale. Well 6 years down the road and three different owners I found it back. I got a really good deal on it and I knew what I was getting into after reading your forums. So I just wanted to show you guys my progress and hopefully you guys could help me do it the right way and maybe have somebody learn something down down the road. Thanks in advance for any interest in this post!!

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Here are some more pictures..

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

It only looks like a piece of 3/4" Plywood! Is that right for a 75hp??? Just doesn't seem like enough..

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Do you think I will be able to run the new transom to both corners of the back of the boat?? And just using 3/4" marine graded plywood? Also it doesn't seem like there is and knee supports.. I will know more tomorrow when I tear it back a little further.. Should I add a couple to the new transom?? Again thanks for any advice!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Most I've seen have been 2 layers of 3/4". Is that transom curved? If you can get it to the 1 1/2" thickness I don't think you need to worry about adding knee braces.

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Thanks ezmobee for the reply! Yeah it is curved. You can kind of see it in the following photo. The transom I would think would have to be 1 1/2" thick!?! Can I turn back now?? Na jk. If I would build it out to 1 1/2" and use a beveled edge on the plywood to make the curve do you think that would work or should I just keep it the way it was? Thanks again for the reply!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Would it help if you did the center section with 1 sheet and than made the second sheet come out to the edges? I'm no glass guy and I've definitely never dealth with a curved transom.

For some reason I always thought those big 'ol Chryslers were cool looking and yours is definitely one of the coolest.

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Thanks! We owned the boat for about 6 years and never had to do anything with the old Chrysler.. Its one good running motor and very clean under the hood! As for the Transom I'm not sure how i'm going to work that out? I will keep ya posted!

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Today started off really good.. I sold my 14ft Lund for what I thought was a fair price.. I knew I had to get rid of it because I was going to be putting some money into this one. I went and picked up my 3/4 inch Marine grade plywood from a local lumber yard.. Then I started to pull back the floor of the boat.. In the first pic you can see how rotten everything is. The floor was set over the top of the old one which is completly rotten! I heard someone say that when starting a project like this you might as well figure your going to replace everything. It has just turned out to be true with my repairs! The second pic is my girlfriend helping out.. She hates the fact that I'm spending so much time working on this.. and just think it has just started.. The other pic is the rest of the carpet pulled off to get at all the screws in the floor. I didn't get what I wanted to get done today but every bit helps. I will be needed some help with this one guys because I have never did anything like this before!!

 

[fishrdan]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

If I would build it out to 1 1/2" and use a beveled edge on the plywood to make the curve do you think that would work or should I just keep it the way it was?

I would just keep it as it was originally built since it worked fine for years. The only problem with the transom is rot, and a bigger section of plywood wouldn't have cured that.

Good luck with the rebuild.

 

[Coho Ghost]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

JR

Start searching and reading everything you can find on this forum. That's what I did when I did my transom job. There is lots of good info here, and if you get stuck, just post a question and you'll get help.

Also Goggle "Repairing rotted boat transoms" you'll get a lot of hits on the "how to" of it all. Take a look at Seacast and NIDA core pourable transom coring processes. Albeit they are expensive, they are pretty neat solutions to re-coring a transom. I did the NIDA core, and it has worked out great. Both outfits have web sites if you Goggle them.

Good luck,
Coho Ghost

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

I think I'm going to run the transom all the way accross the back of the boat. I just think it would be a lot stronger. I will be taking a half day to finish pulling all the rotted floor out.. Are most stingers just a piece of 3/4" plywood?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Check out this guys thread. He had a curved transom and solved his problem in a unique way. You will learn a lot from him.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=355668

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Thanks! I was looking through that thread just the other day! If anyone else knows of someone who has did a curved transom before I would really like to check it out!

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

So this might be a dumb questions but is there an easier way to get the foam out between the old stingers? I'm getting about the size of hockey pucks out one at a time. What fun!!

 

[westexasrepublic]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

i RECENTLY RAN INTO THAT SAME PROBLEM WITH MY RESTORATION, i HAVE SINCE USED A COMBO OF CUTTING TOOLS SUCH AS, dRY WALL SAW, RECIPRICATION SAW, AND AN OSCILLATING POWER TOOL.... REF PICS HERE http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=404575

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Here is what I accomplished today.. The floor was not even a 1/2" thick. If I would use 3/4" ply would it affect anything? And what is the best wood to use for the stingers?? I think the old ones were 1x4?? Thanks for the suggestions so far!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

I used (and prefer) 3/4". The only issue that may arise is if you have any interior pieces whose fitment that may be affected by the increased thickness. Probably not a big deal.

 

[jrenneker]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Thanks! I will be going with 3/4 then.. There shouldn't be anything in the way because the only thing in the boat is the center console... Once I get everything cleaned up and sanded do I start with the transom first or the stingers? I know I read the answer someplace on here but figured I just throw the question out there.. Thanks

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1983 Lund American 16ft Transom Replacement

Do the transom first. Since it is curved I would Laminate 3/8" Ext. Grade or Really DRY PT Ply which will allow you to make the curve. Use either PL Adhesive or OOP's Peanut Butter to stick it to the outer skin then add some more PL or PB and then put in the next layer of 3/8 ply. then Glass it , fillet it, tab it and then start your stringers.