Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

A buddy and I bought a small 1972 Starcraft last year, and we're thinking about upgrading the motor in the future. The transom works fine as-is for our 9.8, but I don't think it's safe for a larger engine (center is solid but edges are completely rotten). I've read a bunch of other threads that have extremely similar topics to this, but I just would like some step-by-step instructions and feedback on my ideas to make sure I'm not gonna screw this up. This is our first boat and we figured this is a good way to learn about this sort of thing for the future. I posted some pictures of the starboard side, so hopefully they will help. My plan would be as follows...

1) remove outboard
2) remove corner caps (picture #1 with four rivets, just cut them off?)
3) remove long aluminum transom top strip (picture #2 and 3 with some sort of through-wood aluminum nails, cut them off also?)
4) remove four screws (picture #4)
5) under splashwell, remove all through-wood screws and nuts and bolts (picture #5 and 6)
6) remove transom wood if possible (probably will not come out in one piece)
7) create shape of transom out of cardboard
8) cut two sheets of marine plywood to shape, gorilla glue together, and drill holes for splashwell
9) make sure it fits and epoxy (what kind of epoxy is best, how many coats, etc?)
10) put transom in, work backwards from steps 5-1 (how should I reattach strip and corner caps that were removed in steps 2-3? what fittings would i need to do so?)

Thanks for your help, and let me know if there are any easy ways to do any of the above steps, as I'm sure we'll figure out the hardest way to get them done. If there are any steps that I'm forgetting or special tools I need to get this done, please let me know. I'll post pictures along the way.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59015837@N05/?saved=1

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

This looks to be about as straigt forward of a transom replacement as there could be. Your plan is pretty good with a few exceptions. Use a Drill to drill out your rivets. Use a bit that is as close to the size of the hole as you can. You can use MG plywood if you want but it is NOT necessary. Ext. Grade (NOT Treated) will work just fine if you encapsulate it with Resin and mat as it appears you plan on doing. Use the resin and mat to glue the two sheets together. No need for the Gorilla Glue. Check with your local body shops or marine shops to see where they get their resin and mat. They might have some on hand to sell you. You will only need about a gallon or two and a couple of yards of mat. You can use epoxy if you Want but more expensive and really no need. uscomposites.com sells it for cheap and it is good stuff. I would use Stainless bolts and screws going back in and ALWAYS predrill your holes and coat the holes and bolts/screws with 3m 4200 sealant when you put em in. Since everything is riveted this should be a breeze. Lot's of these boats are alumawelded and are NOT so easy.

Post some pics of your progress!! We love em!!

I'm just sayin...

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Sounds like you've got it pretty well covered. I'm using epoxy alone to add strength and seal the wood, several methods work well and poly is cheaper.

There are many SC resto threads for more info, I have a 16' SS and they are great boats. What size is that orange one? Maybe a 14' Holiday?

Welcome aboard

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Looks the same as mine on 16' Supersport!! The fasteners that hold the top cap across the back are nails, you should be able to pull them with a small cow-bar and some pliers. As Yacht DR said, drill out the rivets with as small as bit as possible, I used a 3/16". Once you have all of the fasteners out of the transom, and all of those pesky screws from under the splashwell the transome should come out. When I did mine I found that I had to remove some of the rivets and the rubrail rivets to be able to bend up the material on top. Once again this is pretty simple, just gain access, try not to dis-assemble.

Good luck!!!!

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Thanks everyone for the quick replies, that's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for. I expect to start working on getting the fasteners and old transom wood out on Saturday, so hopefully I will have some pictures this weekend. If not, I'm sure I'll have some questions! I'm going to start looking around for the materials I'll need in the meantime, so I have a few more questions about the specifics of those...

1) Since I don't need to use MG plywood, is there a particular kind of exterior grade plywood that I should look for?
2) Would 435 Standard Polyester Layup Resin be a good choice to apply to exterior grade plywood?
3) Should I get fiberglass mat, roving, or both?

Thanks again for all the advice, and Huron I do believe it is a Holiday (it's 14' and doesn't specify model on the title, just model year 19UK). I'll try to post a full body picture at some point (though you all will probably have some suggestions on how to do an aluminum paint job )

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Standard Ext. Grade from Lowes is Good. Get it as DRY as possible and Let it acclimate in your Garage/Shop for a week first. 435 is fine. 1.5 oz mat is all you need. Coat the wood first then a layer of mat then another coat or two of resin and Yes put mat between the two layers of wood. Poly resin without mat dries BRITTLE. Pay attention to the edges of the ply. You can use stick pins if you have problems with the mat laying down.

I'm just sayin...

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Aruaco ply from Lowes (and Menards?) is particularly nice stuff.

You do realize you've stumbled upon the largest collection of aluminum Starcraft enthusiasts on the internet don't you? Welcome and lets see some more overall pics!

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

I am pretty excited with what little I saw there, how about the rest??!

Looks like the guys have ya covered on your transom there.

Welcome!

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

I am pretty excited with what little I saw there, how about the rest??!

Click to expand...

Yeah enough with the "Star-tease" we want to see the whole boat

Those little orange 14' Holidays are some of the coolest tin cans on the water.

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

You will soon understand

The ONLY two things you have left out .......... Lot's of beverage consumption and a bit of swearing :facepalm:

As a prediction...... I see many trips to get stainless steel bolts and hardware in your future

MANY MANY MANY of us have been there and done that.... (hmmm we should print up tee shirts!)

You are on the right track. Welcome to the madness!!

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Well it looks like I came to the right place here - more pictures have been uploaded at http://www.flickr.com/photos/59015837@N05/. The water photos are crabbing last year after we bought it and made some quick modifications to suit our fishing and crabbing needs The garage photo is the most recent, stripped down for a few projects we have in mind to complete before spring. Enjoy.

And yeah, I already can't count the number of trips I made for stainless steel nuts and bolts for last year's small additions, it's unbelievable...

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Looks like a great little rig and it looks like you are already having a bunch of fun on er, great@!

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Good for you on getting out there and using the boat. Hopefully this year I get mine out there and float it. I was under the impression that these things were just for working on

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Just follow their information and read their threads and you will move right along. I am redoing a 1972 starcraft supersport and I have used all of their information. It is so helpful.

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

So we got an itch to get started on the transom today and we had some free time, so we got a lot done. Thanks to everyone for all the tips on removing everything, it all came out relatively quickly considering the age of the hardware. All of the nuts, bolts, and screws holding the wood into the boat are now removed. The only thing holding it in are the aluminum panels that run down the side of the boat (they extend about an inch over the top of the wood). I tried drilling out the rubrail rivet in the back, but I couldn't get the rail to budge once the rivet was gone, much less move it enough to bend that panel upward. Any suggestions? Can I cut a line in the aluminum panel from the back inwards about an inch so I can bend that section back to get the old wood out and put in the new? Any help is much appreciated, and new pics of what I'm talking about are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/59015837@N05/?saved=1.

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Yes go ahead an trim off that metal that extends over the wood. That's what most of us have done. You shouldn't have to mess with the rub rail.

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

I trimmed off about 1" of aluminum on the port side of mine to get the old wood out and for test fitting the new.

Love the boat, looks like she's good for bringing home crabs

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Ok thanks I'll plan on doing that tomorrow or Saturday then and fiberglassing next week after I let the wood sit in the garage for a while. I read some threads on painting aluminum that said you need the temperature to be above 60 and it got me thinking about the resin. I don't know much about working with the 435 resin I'm going to order from uscomposites, so do I need to worry about applying it in low temperatures?

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

Yep, 60 degrees is about it for doing your glassin too. Any colder and you run the risk of having a gooey mess on your hands. if you can tent the area and keep a flameless heater in there to keep the temp up you can get the glassin' done. Hold off on the paint till the temp comes back up. Spend your time on getting the aluminum prepped. A good paint job is ALL in the prep anyway. Use some 60 grit to lightly sand off any loose paint then use 80 grit to "Scuff" the rest. Wash her down with a 50/50 mix of White Vinegar and Water. Then let her dry. Make sure you Prime her with a Self Etching Primer, just a light coat will do. If you want to ensure you have no leaks then check out GLUVIT. Lots of Tin Boat guys seal the inside of their boats with it.

You'll have her seaworthy in no time.

Re: Aluminum Starcraft Wooden Transom Repair

So we were able to remove the transom on Friday, but we found out it was a little harder than just pulling it out. We forgot about the through-wood aluminum drain tubes in the splashwell, which now we're going to have to replace (any ideas?). Also, there must've been some glue or serious tension on the wood, because it took a lot of effort to pull it out (and it did not come out in one piece). Anyways, thanks for the recommendation on the aruaco ext ply, we picked it up yesterday and it looks really nice. Now we're just waiting on our order from uscomposites so we can get started on the glassing - any tips are always welcome in that department, but otherwise I'll post more pictures when the time comes. More pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/59015837@N05/sets/72157625964194372/