Transom questions....

[JSGOLD]

We recently removed an old 55hp motor from my 1976 Starcraft and am getting ready to fill in the holes below the water line. There is a outside transom board on this boat and I noticed it has a lot of marine grade silicone around it for sealing. My transom seems to be in good shape and no sign of rot anywhere inside or out. I was wondering if this sealant should be removed and perhaps something like 3M 5200 would be better for sealing this wood or am I just better off leaving as is and just checking the silicone every so often for damage. With half of it being below the water line was just wondering what was best. It needs paint also...would a good oil based paint do OK? Seems I read somewhere not to use 5200 as a caulk but opinions seem to differ.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Got a picture or 2,..??

 

[dozerII]

Should remove the piece of wood to check for corrosion behind it. I prefer using a piece of 1/4inch sheet aluminum rather than ply if I replace it at all. Installed with 3M 4200 to seal the sheet an bolt holes

 

[JSGOLD]

Will post a couple of pics later this evening. Right now I am just trying to seal it up as best I can and maybe replace the wood in the fall if that seems the thing to do.Its also bolted in. The silicone seems intact but was wondering if 5200 would seal it up better since I have a whole caulking tube of it....but read last night 5200 is not really a caulk and some of these sealants dont stick where silicone was ....I like the idea of the aluminum plate....Would 5200 be overkill for that?

 

[JSGOLD]

Hope these come out....

 

[JSGOLD]

pic 2

 

[JSGOLD]

pic 3

 

[JSGOLD]

Pic 2 was a dud....but maybe what i got to load will do. At this point I would prefer not to remove the board as I would not have the time right now to deal with it if something goes wrong or if it needed a lot of work. Dealing with some things here right now that leave me with little time. Not sure what is under it and there at least 8 bolts in it as well. No idea what kind of sealant is under it and so far no leaks in the old boat. My original idea was remove the silicone and seal with 5200 which looks like a bad idea after I read up on it more. I can't see opening a whole caulker of 5200 to just seal the lower (2) bolt holes that are under the water line, so may go with some marine silicone and two dowels and adding some silicone and paint for now. I do like the idea of replacing it though with a metal one at some point. Am open to suggestions.

 

[dozerII]

5200 is classed as permanent adhesive sealant. If the ply is sealed well I would leave it till after boating season then dig in and replace it with a piece of aluminum

 

[JSGOLD]

OK, I will go over it very carefully and add silicone if needed for now then remove the wood in the fall. Since i will be doing this what would be the simplest and/or best way to seal the two lower holes? I was told stainless bolts and 5200, or epoxy resin. A local guy told me to re use my bolts and seal with washers and marine silicone, but not too keen on that......

 

[dozerII]

Stainless bolts and 4200 non permanent sealant

 

[JSGOLD]

Installed stainless hardware and used 4200. Then painted the exterior wood. Looks good, Thanks for the help!