[Esox]

I need to replace the wood in the transom of my '97 Lund Tyee (Aluminum). After tearing into it I realize this is not going to be an easy job. The gunwales extend to the stern of the boat and are covering the top of the transom. In order to install new wood in the transom I will either need to remove the entire gunwale or cut a small section out and have it welded back together after the repair is done. Also on the starboard side I don't have access to the inside of the transom (to remove the bolts) because there is a gusset and live well in the way. The only way to remove the livewell is to remove the entire splashwell as it is all one piece. As far as I can tell if I remove the floor on the starboard side I will be able to remove the foam underneath and will have access to the bolts in the transom from there. Here are some pictures of what I'm dealing with. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

On the left side of this picture you can see the livewell blocking access to the backside of the transom.

Here are the gunwales at the stern.

Here are some more of the transom.

Also.....Is it common for a transom to be rotten in a 10 year old aluminum boat? I was shocked at how rotten the wood was since I could put all my weight on the engine when it was tilted up and there wasn't the slightest bit of movement in the transom.

[drewmitch44]

Im no expert but if there is no movement like you say especialy with all your weight, I would leave it alone. How do you know the transom is rotted? The pictures you have on there of the wood of the transom look ok to me.

[Esox]

Here is a picture of the rotten wood. I know it's rotten because the wood is just falling apart. Some of the wood is still solid but it won't stay that way for long since it's really wet.

[tashasdaddy]

Gary H NC, just did a seacast pour on his transom. your's is a hard on, as it looks to be a welded boat. i use a ryobi 18 volt chain saw and chew out the rotted wood, and a shop vac. the saw is quiet and you can hear what you are cutting, and it is not aggressive, like a gas saw.

[Esox]

Thanks for the reply TD! My boat is mostly riveted but some spots are welded. To remove the splashwell and gunwales would be a PITA - would have to remove solid rivets and cut out some welds.

So the Seacast would be an option for me?

Thanks

[Nova II 260]

Electric chainsaw will dig the rotten wood out. You can hear it when it touches the aluminium and it will not cut it on the flat. Remove all your metal hardware 1st.
In this picture it shows a row of verticle rivits, does that not hold the inner transom panel to the sides? If so you could drill them out then replace the wood and re-mount the inner panel.
Perhaps I'm seeing it wrong...

[Esox]

Hmm... Let me see. This may be hard to explain. Those rivets attach that peice of angle to the splashwell. The other part of the angle is screwed to the inner skin. I will need to remove the screws on the inside of the angle to get the wood out (that side is still solid - the other side just fell apart). I don't think I will need to remove the inner skin though. The main problem is the gunwale being in place will prevent me from putting a single peice of ply back in. If I leave the gunwale in place, I would have to peice the transom back in (3 sections) and i'm not sure that is a valid option.

Let me know if I have to take more pictures. It's hard for me to explain these things in a way that people can understand.

[tashasdaddy]

i have replace transoms where i did the outer layer in 2 pieces, split down the center, the inner piece went in, in 3 pieces, one small piece on the outside, under the gunnels, then a full piece that went between the gunnels. then thru bolted. the lines represent plywood

___ ___________________ ___
_____________ _____________

Does this make sense to you.

[Gary H NC]

That is a perfect candidate for Seacast. Get the screws out from the inside if possible and any rivets you can.
I just did this job on a much larger transom.
The chainsaw works great.
Drill holes every couple inches or so down thru the wood then let the chainsaw eat it away.I used a 1 inch paddle bit for that.
I took a piece of flat steel and slightly bent the end and sharpened it.Use it to scrape the remaining wood off the inside walls.A large pry bar is useful too.
Get up the sides as much as possible.The Seacast will bond to the dry wood.
Tape over any holes and pour it in. Any thru hull fittings can be re-drilled.
Let me know if i can help more...

The worst part is the wood removal.

[Esox]

Thanks for all the advice! Look like I have to make a decision on replacing the wood with wood or go the Seacast route. The bottom of the transom is open on the inside so if I go with the Seacast i would need to make some type of dam to keep the Seacast in. My only concern is the difference in weight between the wood and Seacast but that may not be a big deal. This boat is very heavy for an 18' er (1500 Lbs. dry weight) and I really don't want to add more weight if I can help it. Thanks again guys!

[Gary H NC]

The Seacast is not that heavy,By the time you added the plywood and resin i bet the difference would not be but a few pounds.At least with it you know it would never rot again or absorb water.
I tested some of it and it floats,also beat it to death with a hammer and it would not break..

[Nova II 260]

Esox, You said the boat is onlty 10 years old.
Have you contacted Lund about the transom at all? Lund is a good name.
They may be able to shed some light on th matter, perhaps even help.

[Esox]

Originally Posted by Nova II 260

Esox, You said the boat is onlty 10 years old.
Have you contacted Lund about the transom at all? Lund is a good name.
They may be able to shed some light on th matter, perhaps even help.

Yeah. The boat is a '97 model year and like you said Lund has a good reputation - at least in my neck of the woods. I called the dealer that I bought the boat from but unfortunately he wasn't any help at all. In fact for the year I have owned this thing he hasn't been of any help to me at all. Can't seem to answer even the simplest questions (this place is way more helpful). I am now going to call Lund directly and see if they can give me any info/help/etc. Hopefully they will be of some help even though I bought it used. Thanks!

[tashasdaddy]

90% of aluminum boats don't have epoxy seal transoms. everyone i work on has been raw wood. as Esox said his is open at the bottom, and does not cover the whole depth of the transon like a glass boat.

[Esox]

Just got off the phone with the manufacturer. Wow that was a quick call - only slightly more helpful than my dealer. They CAN fix the transom at the factory. They said about 35Hrs total @ $75/Hr = $2,600 + materials and "anything else that may need to be replaced". They remove the splashwell and gunwales to remove/reinstall the wood. I asked if it's common for the transom to rot out in 10 years and they said they have seen 30yo wood that looks like new and 2yo wood that is totally rotted (figures). So I'm on my own on this one. Still not sure how to go about this one.

I'm going to home depot after work and picking up an electric chain saw and will start removing the remainder of the wood that's in there. Still need to figure out how to get the remaining thru-bolts out of the starboard side of the transom.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

[Gary H NC]

2600 labor...GEEZE!! Plus materials i bet the bill would be 4K at least.

For under 500 you could do the Seacast or save even more and do wood..

[Esox]

Originally Posted by Gary H NC

2600 labor...GEEZE!! Plus materials i bet the bill would be 4K at least.

For under 500 you could do the Seacast or save even more and do wood..

Yeah. I guess I'm in the wrong business...lol

The Seacast is looking more and more appealing every day. I'll have a better idea of how I can build a dam in the bottom of the transom to hold the Seacast in once I have the wood removed. The biggest battle is still going to be getting access to the inside of the transom on the starboard side to remove the thru-bolts. So far it looks like I'll be pulling the floor to get back there.

At least the chainsaw only cost me $42.

I think it was on this site that I read.......BOAT = Break Out Another Thousand. How true!

[tashasdaddy]

ok, not to throw a monkey wrench in here, but is the seacast going to bond to the aluminum, and not having a total transom to the bottom like a glass boat. Gary you've done the seacast research, is it mentioned? i just want to cover all bases.

[Gary H NC]

That is a good Question TD, I will shoot them an email!! I can't find anything in the book that came with the seacast about aluminum hulls..
They should get back to me tomorrow....I will post as soon as i know.

[Gary H NC]

Email sent, I was reading their site and it states that it WILL work on aluminum boats.They sell a primer that you put on the aluminum before the seacast is poured...

Building the dam in the hull you could use a piece of plexiglass,or thin plywood with wax paper over it.

[Esox]

I read the same thing about the primer and bonding with aluminum on the seacast site. Seems as though it will work as long as I can dam up the bottom.

I started drilling and cutting out the old wood. Wow is this going to be a big job - not that i though it would be easy. I have maybe a 1/4 of the wood removed. The two peices of wood are stapled together with a lot of staples - the saw and drill bit are not happy cutting through metal. I think the chain needs sharpening already.

Now my main focus is going to be getting access to the thru-bolts on the starboard side. If it involves removing the floor to get to them I'm in for an even bigger job. I don't see any seams in the carpet so not sure if/where the plywood seams are. I'm also not sure what's under the floor - other than foam.

Thanks for all the help guys! I wouldn't have been able to do this without your help.

[Gary H NC]

Hang in there! It took me 3 days to get the wood out.
I just finished all my final fiberglass work this evening.
All thats left is light sanding and shooting the paint on the transom.It was good to stand back and see a solid transom..And know the hard part is over.

I'm still trying to destroy my test chunk of Seacast...I have thrown it up in the air and let it hit the concrete,hammered it,smacked it and run over it with my dually truck and still can't break it..Going to take into the woods and see what a .22 rifle will do...

[Nova II 260]

Let the Chainsaw do the work..don't force it. Patience. Shop vac the chips. Wear dust mask at the minimum. Mold can kill ya, damn near did me...
Grind the heads off those through hull rivits or drill them out. You should be able to replace them with SS bolts/nuts of the same diameter.

I don't understand the bottom being "open" if you have alum. on both front and back could you not just put a 1/2" x height +" piece of wood on the bottom?
You could 5200 it in or even use duct tape to hold it, so that there is a bottom for the Seacast to go/stop to.
Cheer-up! Think of the money you're saving with practically the same end result. Good for the next 20+ years.

[tashasdaddy]

that why the electric saw is good, it's not aggressive, and you don't cut what you don't want to.

[Esox]

The bottom is open as the wood in the transom doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the hull. It looks as though it stops around where the chines are. In this picture you can see where the inner transom skin and wood stop - about in the middle of the photo - maybe 4-5" below the lower engine mounting holes(the white spots). Below that is where the live well pick-ups, bilge drain and rear live well drain run through the transom - Just a single sheet of alum. Hope that makes sense.

There are no rivets going through the transom. They're bolts. The problem with that is I don't have access to the nuts on the inside. I can cut them out but putting new ones in will require access from the inside. I did some more poking around and found to remove the floor I will need to pull the carpet. The floor was screwed down and the carpet was installed over the screws

At this point I'm considering leaving the inaccessible screws in the transom. Removing the splash well or floor to gain access to them is a ton of extra work. I should be able to get all the wood out even with them in. Wondering if leaving them in will affect the seacast pour.?.?