[ezmobee]

Ok, I've done a lot of reading on here and I'm ready to replace the transom on my Starcraft. I'm going with exterior plywood and sealing it with polyester resin. At HD/Lowes what is the exact name of the type of plywood I want? I think the transom is about an inch to an inch and half in thickness total.

[tashasdaddy]

you want 3/4 exterior, ply, sanded 1 side, they don't carry sanded 2 sides. i've been using PL premium 100%poly to glue them together. they carry it.

http://www.stickwithpl.com/Products....9-a343f2ef9458

[ezmobee]

Thanks TD. Exactly what I was looking for.

[joeyplumley]

I have a Starcraft also, and am also replacing the transom. I used 3/4" PT plywood.

Some lessons learned (so far):
-A little aluminum cutting & bending under the rear corner covers let the transom slide up and out, as a whole. The splashwell doesn't need to be removed, nor does the transom have to be more than one piece.

-I used 1 sheet of 4'X8' - it was more than enough for both "layers".

-I used PL Premium Construction Adhesive and a 1/4" notched trowel to glue the 2 rough-cut layers together. A full 10 oz tube barely covered the whole thing.

-If I had it to do over again, instead of clamps, I would've used 1" drywall screws - this would've made for a much tighter bond.

-Use the old transom as a template, but just for the sides and bottom. Once sides and bottom are cut to match your template, slide it in the boat with the top uncut Then trace a line to match the splashwell/outer transom skin. Mark all holes whiles it's in, too.

-I used a belt sander w/ 24 grit and a plane to take off some thick areas so it would slide in and out easily.

-I used epoxy to seal the whole thing, paying special attention to sides and the predrilled holes.

-I mixed the epoxy w/ sawdust (from the floor) to make a paste, and filled in the voids on the sides and faces.

-I thinned the first coat of epoxy w/ 25% Xylene (following others suggestions). It REALLY soaked in, almost like water. The outer surface wasn't even glossy.

-Plan on about 3-4 coats on the sides, and 2 on the front/back. The sides, being very porous, really soak up the resin.

I can post some pictures if you find any of this helpful.

[tashasdaddy]

yes, you can usually get a full transom, out of one sheet of Ply. here is one i did on an old fishing boat, that did not have a splash well.

[ezmobee]

Thanks TD and Joey. I don't think my current transom is going to be in much shape to serve as a template. That will probably be the most difficult part. I don't think I'm going to go as hard core on the epoxy sealing as you did because I really don't plan to own this boat for too many years. The closed bow is really impractical and I'm hoping to upgrade to your exact model Joey. My current transom has been reinforced and has been solid as is for 3 full seasons of use, however every fastner that goes through the rotted wood leaks so I have to run my bildge pump all the time. Also, I don't feel comfortable selling the boat in it's current condition. I'm hoping my wife lets me upgrade to a bowrider in a couple seasons Thanks again guys. Wish me luck. As for tomorrow....I'm taking her out for the first time this season to get a little use out of her before tearing her apart again and maybe do a little fishing.

[joeyplumley]

Well - this is my first boat. I owe to everyone here for educating me on the advantages/disadvantages of an aluminum boat, without which I wouldn't have bought this thing (and instead would have blindly tried to repair that POS fiberglass boat I had).

Best of luck - at least yours is in the water. If I didn't have the old transom as a template, I'd just take some cardboard and make one. Would take a little more time, I guess.

I bought a gallon of epoxy from USComposites for my jetski, and it's worked out perfectly. I'm just trying to find a use for the rest of it that's left. I also used it on the rivits (from the inside) like we're supposed to use gluvit. Seems like it sealed (I thinned it too). If it doesn't, I really haven't lost anything, and will go buy some gluvit.

I'll have to start a thread on all the stuff I'm doing to mine, so I won't go into too much detail. Here's some pictures to get you motivated.

[gunner1]

Hey ezmobee, don't forget to take alot of pics and post them here! I have the same boat as you and can see that in the near future I'll have to do the same thing as you. And I agree, the closed bow on this model is a waste. I was thinking of getting out the Sawzall and doing some "re-engineering" but figured that it may detract from the structural stability. Maybe I'll finsh adding the parts I need to get me to through this striper season, then turn around and sell it to buy a different model Starcraft. I really like them because they remind me of a 1960's to mid 1970's Chevy motor: very easy to work on and the cost associated with working on them are realtively small.

[gunner1]

Originally Posted by ezmobee

Ok, I've done a lot of reading on here and I'm ready to replace the transom on my Starcraft. I'm going with exterior plywood and sealing it with polyester resin. At HD/Lowes what is the exact name of the type of plywood I want? I think the transom is about an inch to an inch and half in thickness total.

Good luck finding 3/4" exterior grade ply at Lowe's or Home Depot. Two weeks ago I went to two different Lowe's and one Home Depot because I needed one final sheet to finish off the floor in my boat and NOBODY had it! I remembere4d the two sheets I had bought during the fall which were 3/4" ext. ply had 5 green bars on the end of the sheets. As I'm walking down the aisle towards the door totally pissed that I couldn't get what I wanted at a friggin' WAREHOUSE I saw a stack of sheets that were marked 3/4" sheathing. The tag said nothing about it being exterior grade, but I read the stamping on the sheet itself and Viola! There it was. Another case of just because someone working there says they don't have it, doesn't make it true. The guy I talked to in Lowe's said they weren't carrying it. (NOT CARRYING EXT. GRADE PLYWOOD??) But I remember seeing the sheets with the green stripes not marked in a stack.

[ezmobee]

Thanks gunner1. At least you're getting yours all done at one time. I'll be sure to post pics.