Lone star medallion 2, half glass pass?

[Sonnybrown]

Hello all. I am new to the forum, And relatively new to boats. Further I am brand new to aluminum boats. I picked up a lone star medallion 2 for very cheap, with a chrysler 105. I am looking to restore over the next few years (keeping un-usabel time hopefully to one 6 month winter.) The boat came with a fairly tough job to do.

For some reason, the p/o decided to cut the aluminum transom out, And replace it with a full wood transom and fiberglass it to the aluminum hull. I am sure this worked for him, but I don't feel like watching my boat motor flailing through the water, still attached to the wood transom, And me on the boat 10 feet away looking at the massive void filling with water and the boat sinking faster than a lead weight.

So, question time. This is a fully rivited boat. Do you aluminum guys think that welding a fresh plate of aluminum to the back will cause issues with cracking eventually? Is this a lost cause?

Pics to follow once I find out my photobucket password, but comments are welcome pre pics !

Thanks and look forward to being part of this forum!

 

[ondarvr]

This can be made to work, but starting with another hull may be much cheaper and easier.

 

[Sonnybrown]

Thank you ondarvr. I do have access to a mig set up for aluminum. As well as a friend who welds aluminum for a living. He Is willing to work for beer and pizza. So labor cost is low.
I paid 600 for the boat/motor/trailer. The going rate for even a basic 14 foot aluminum, no motor, brand irrelevent, is 1500. If you get in to the 16-17 foot deep v hull boats with consoles, you are looking at 6000 plus, again regardless of brand or year and without motor. I hope that with 3-400 dollars worth of material I can fix this boat up solid and be in it for a 6th of what it would be to buy one that is sound.


My only worry is replacing a previously rivited, structurally integral part of this boat by welding. I don't even want to think about how difficult it would be to rivit in the transom.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the sheet of 5052 will cost you about $300 alone

 

[ondarvr]

Structures that were designed to be riveted together don't tend to do well when welded, not that it can't be done, but cracking and failed welds can be an issue.

 

[Sonnybrown]

I can get a 4x8 sheet of 1/16 5052 for 150, Or a 4x8 of 1/8 diamond plate for 200. With the size of the boat it will cover the transom with lots of spare material to triangulate the transom against the hull. I think I'll give it a shot. After all, this fiberglass fix seems to be fairy old and still working just fine.

 

[Scott Danforth]

diamond plate is 6063 and is not corrosion resistant

your hull is most likely 14 gauge or .090 sheet and not 16 gauge.

 

[ondarvr]

Is the old aluminum transom hidden under that new high end composite transom?

 

[Sonnybrown]

Unfortunately it would appear not. From what I can see the p/o cut out the aluminum and put a big piece of wood and glass over it to achieve full composite awesomeness.
I took a knife and dug through the glass layer, hoping to hit aluminum but only found soggy wood.

Scott- In regards to 6063 diamond plate, if it is not corrosion resistant, but the boat will see only fresh water on weekends over our amazingly long 4 month summer, is it somthing that will still happen fast? Or is the corrosion resistance mostly for salt water boats that spend their lives wet at marinas ?

This is great information and exactly the tips I was looking for. Thanks for the Input and not dismissing the projects viability immediately!

 

[Sonnybrown]

I'm an old forum go'er . We used to use photobucket. Is this still acceptable for sizing, etc?




You should require a licence to use an angle grinder. I can't fathem a reaso why someone would remove the ENTIRE TRANSOM metal.

Damage? Fixable, corrosion? Fixable. Welding a replacement piece of aluminum would be way easier if the idiot p/o diddnt cut off the rivits and press bent area of the transom. All I'd need is an inch of flat material. But bending that 90 degree angle to weld to the side of the boat is going to require a lot of time with a hammer...

 

[Sonnybrown]

After doing some looking around, I see that rivets look to be not as difficult as I originally thought.
I'm sure the original rivets are, but there are more options now with marine pop rivet and sealant combos.
I have also seen as bolts with nylocks and flat washers with sealant used by a few people.
Would these ss bolts be a better option than welding? I like the idea of being able to remove the transom to replace the wood when time comes again.