Time To Replace Aluminum Boat Transom. Can you help?

[lmsmith]

I got everything taken off and out of my new boat. The transom is shot, so it needs to be replaced. I have no problems getting it out, I could basically blow on it and it would float away, but I'm not sure how to get the new piece in beacuse of the angled support bracket. All the bolts have been removed. I figured I'd repair using outdoor ply and cover it with with spar varnish or epoxy, unless someone can recommend something better.

I made a template of the rotten transom. Do I just yank all the old wood out? Do I need to remove/cut/bend any of the aluminum to get the new piece in? Am I going to have to remove the angled bracket?

Any help on replacing the transom would be greatly appreciated.

 

[oops!]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

hi....welcome to iboats !

you tinny guys make me sick

that is a very simple straight forward repair....only a few hours compaired to 40 hours of glass work on a i/o glass boat....lol

ok....

the top alum edge needs to come off.....after you remove all the bolts....it should just fall off.

you can use cpes or poly resin glass it ....or even just paint the wood....how long you want it to last depends on you...

the sealing epoxy will be the most expencive...the poly glassing will me the most time consuming......each will last 30 years with minimal up keep.

just painting it will most likely be a good 10 years till you have to put on the next coat.

your call bud

cheers
oops

 

[lmsmith]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

I got the wood to drop down now. I removed the strip of aluminum that was sandwhiched under the top rail. The top rail isn't removable, it all on piece of the hull. I can freely move the wood, but I can't get enough of an angle because of the angled support bracket/arm to clear the top rail.

In the picture, I attached the before and after, you can see the wood is lower now, but the angled support bracket won't allow the wood to lean forward. Do I have to remove the support bracket or do I just grab it and carefully move it until I get enough room to clear the top rail.

 

[harley guy]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Just take the support knee out.It's really quite easy,all you have to do is unbolt it from the transom and then center punch and drill the rivets out on the keel.I know that sounds scary drilling holes in the bottom of your boat but all you have to do is use some stainless bolts in place of the rivets when you put it back together again. Make sure you use some marine grade sealant on the bolts and brace when you put it all back together and you should be good to go.If it was my boat I would encapsulate the plywood in fiberglass before I put it back in,why go to all that work and then cheap out at the end.

 

[Struc]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Actually, if you just unbolted the support, you think you could slide it out? No need to un-rivet it from the bottom if you could flex it enough to get some new wood in there.

 

[lmsmith]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Actually, if you just unbolted the support, you think you could slide it out? No need to un-rivet it from the bottom if you could flex it enough to get some new wood in there.

That's kind of how I'm leaning right now. I thought I might make the new transom wood and then see if it would slide in with a little flex on the support knee.

harley guy, I didn't think of replacing the rivets with bolts if I take out the support knee. Doing that doesn't seem to intimidating. One thing I hope to learn is how to buck a rivet. I've got a pop rivet gun, but I'd like to learn how to do it by bucking them.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

you tinny guys make me sick

Aw, come on oops! We'll get ya one if ya want, no need to get your fiberglass boxers all in a bunch buddy!


Yah, oops has ya covered on sealing that plywood up. If I were in your shoes I'd probably just paint it up real well with porch and floor paint. If you are going full on beautiful restoration I'd say seal it with epoxy then paint.


Agree with harley guy. You'll just want to remove that knee brace. It'll make your life a lot easier putting the new piece back in. Another thing, bending/flexing aluminum is not such a good idea as it may just crack/snap right off in your hand.

Welcome to the iboats dry dock and have fun!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Is that just one piece of 3/4" plywood or 2?

You really do need to remove the knee brace, that looks like a pretty stout piece of metal and you may damage the bottom of your boat trying to flex/move it. You can drill out the rivets holding it to the hull and then replace them with the ss nuts and bolts (use nyloc nuts) or you can rivet it back like this with closed end blind rivets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MA1-5NXjs&feature=related

I suggest the 1/4" diameter rivets for strength, you can get them here.

http://www.rivetsonline.com/blind-rivets-en/closed-end-blind-rivets.html

The heavy duty rivet setting tool will come in handy if you have leaking rivets in your boat.

The exterior grade spar urethane will be ok if you use 3 or 4 coats on both sides and the edges.

 

[lmsmith]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

jigngrub, Thanks for the reply. It's one solid piece of wood. I think I'm going to remove the support. I'd like to use the closed end blind rivets. I've looked into them a little already for other applications on the boat I've been thinking about.

Should I use the Stainless Rivet/Stainless Mandrel Dome Head so rust isn't an issue. I feel like if I use the Aluminum Rivet/Steel Mandrel Dome Head the steel would rust. Is that correct?

 

[KellyC]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Welcome to the dry dock lmsmith. It is not hard to buck rivets either bud, I have never had experience with them until I bought my Islander. I have replaced quit a few in the bottom of the hull and will be putting a whole bunch more in the transom as I am going to put another sheet on the outside. So don't let bucking rivet bother you bud, if I can do it then anyone can do it.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

jigngrub, Thanks for the reply. It's one solid piece of wood. I think I'm going to remove the support. I'd like to use the closed end blind rivets. I've looked into them a little already for other applications on the boat I've been thinking about.

Should I use the Stainless Rivet/Stainless Mandrel Dome Head so rust isn't an issue. I feel like if I use the Aluminum Rivet/Steel Mandrel Dome Head the steel would rust. Is that correct?

The stainless/stainless will probably be the best, but the aluminum with the steel mandrel dipped in epoxy will work too... just dab a bit of marine epoxy over the hole where the mandrel breaks off to keep it from rusting.

The thing I like about the closed end blind rivets is that it's a one man operation because it's hard for me to get someone lined up to do some work when I need it done.

 

[lmsmith]

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

Re: Time to replace the transom. Can you help?

I got the transom removed. I drilled the rivets and that went good, but trying to get them removed from the hull wasn't good. I drilled from the inside and when the bracket was removed it left about 1/4 of rivet sticking up. Well they didn't want to push/press out of the hull. I then tried to drill from the bottom and the rivets only spun. So, back to the top. I drilled with a small bit way deep into the rivet hoping it would give some relief to the rivet so it could be tapped out. It worked, but on one of the rivets I end up drilling into the hull (upper right rivet in picture). So, this leads to believe that I should go with stainless bolts because I'm thinking a rivet may not fill the void I made.

What do you think?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Time To Replace Aluminum Boat Transom. Can you help?

Yup, stainless bolts seated in 5200 will do just fine.

Nice job pulling that transom out

 

[harley guy]

Re: Time To Replace Aluminum Boat Transom. Can you help?

What kind of power are you putting on Imsmith?Do you have any other plans for your project?How long is your boat? Do you plan on keeping it for a long time? what are you going to be using it for[fishing,pulling a tube,etc.]The answer to these questions will help you determine how much effort and money you want to put into the project.I worked in aluminum boat shops for aproximatley 15 years and one thing I found out was that you can do almost anything with these small cartoppers and they last forever with minimal maintenance.I specifically remember one guy that came in with a newer 14 footer and wanted us to fabricate a small console.We ended up making a console about 18 inches wide by 30 inches high by 12 inches deep.It was placed between the rear and center benches and the customer insalled a small helm/control station on it,he latter even put a windshield on it.I think he had a 30 or 35 hp. outboard on the back with electric start.I remember it only took about 2 hours to fab and install the console so the total cost was probably less than 400 bucks and when it was finished it looked fantastic.The guy was using it primarily for salmon fishing but it just goes to show you what you can do whith a little money and a lot of imagination.

 

[lmsmith]

Re: Time To Replace Aluminum Boat Transom. Can you help?

Well the stock motor is a 30 hp. I'd like to get it going, but might at some point upgrade to a 50 hp. That's the max hp on the dash label. Right now I'm leaning towards repairing the boat to a good reliable condition and then use it with the family for a while. I might hold off on painting it, but I plan to strip it now. I'd probably pull a tube with it, our kids are still young, so no sking yet. I don't know how long we'll keep it, I guess it depends on how much we like it and use it. Basically I plan to use this boat as an introduction to the boating lifestyle while having the oportunity to work on something with my hands. When I get done with it now I plan to have a nice satin finish aluminum boat that is very dependable and fun to use. Whatever the minimal amount of money and effort it takes to get that done is what I"ll do. Then if after a year we absolutely love the boat I will fix it up some more. We might even buy another lake ready boat to have fun with while I work on this one. It is my first boat, so I'm figuring it may be hard to get rid of.