Grumman transom

[sjcl]

I have a 14 ft. Grumman aluminum boat, around a 1989. I've repaired some corrosion holes in transom but I've yet to check to see what is inside the aluminum and what kind of shape it may be in. Does anyone know if it is wood? If so, how do you remove and replace the wooden core

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Grumman transom

Almost certain it's wood. Have ya got some photos handy of what you are working on?

Hey, welcome to iboats!

 

[sjcl]

Re: Grumman transom

Almost certain it's wood. Have ya got some photos handy of what you are working on?

Hey, welcome to iboats!

Thanks for the welcome. Been having trouble figuring out how to reply. Here's a picture of the stern. You can see the welds where the holes were repaired. (salt water, of course) The transom seems solid so I'm not sure if there is any damage but I want to be prepared. Which raises a question. How do you tell for sure if there's a problem without taking the transom apart?

(Boat hasn't been used for a few years - have a newer one. But we have new plans for this guy.)

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Grumman transom

Do you have a pic looking down at the top of the transom? Does your boat have a splashwell?

to remove the wood you'll need to remove you transom/gunwale corner brackets, transom cap, splashweel if equipped, any transom braces, motor, and any thru bolts.

I'm pretty sure your wood only goes down to that bottom line of horizontal rivets, they're more than likely holding a "Z" channel that holds the bottom of your transom wood.

If you decide to replace your wood, DO NOT use treated lumber. Use and exterior grade plywood.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Grumman transom

Yah, inside photo would be helpful. By your description I am picturing your transom sandwiched by alum. If it's not that will make your life a whole lot easier and the steps grub gave ya ^^^ will take ya no time at all to get it out.

Cheers

 

[sjcl]

Re: Grumman transom

Here?s another view. As you guys guessed, the wood runs only to the rivets and the transom is sandwiched by aluminum. No splashwell though. Fortunately, it appears that almost all the wood is above the water line. So maybe this thing is in better shape than I thought. (It?s had a snow cover/tarp on for a couple of years.) I guess the first thing to do is to drill a couple of probes inside and see if I hit solid wood or rot ? unless you have a better idea for testing. Thanks for the help.

By the way, this is a great site. I?ve learned a lot just by poking around looking for various things.

 

[sjcl]

Re: Grumman transom

One other thought. I noticed the pictures I've inserted come out awfully small. When I first tried, the site said my pics - at around 3 MB - were too large. So I reduced them. I'm guessing there's some sweet spot. The ones I've sent are around 300 KB.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Grumman transom

That doesn't look like it'll be too hard to remove, not as easy as an exposed wood... but not nearly as bad as some others I've seen.

If your wood isn't too rotten you could put a couple of eye bolts in it and attach a come-a-long overhead and coax it out with a rubber mallet and a 2X4.

If the wood is rotten it'll be a lot of digging with a long screwdriver or something.

In case you don't know, don't use pressure treated lumber anywhere in an aluminum boat. Use an exterior grade plywood and seal it with exterior grade spar urethane or epoxy resin... 3 or 4 coats.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Grumman transom

Yah, I don't think there is any sure fire way to tell if the wood is rotten without pulling it apart. Hmmmm....