Hello everyone. I have gotten some great advice on here before on previous questions, thank you to all.
I bought my first boat this past april, a 14' aluminum sea nymph and I am still fixing it up. My latest project is to replace a working, but soft wood transom. During the process, I am planning to raise the transom to put my engine at the right height in the water. I ripped the old out yesterday, and discovered a fair amount of damage to the aluminum, but I don't think it is so much it will need major repair. I have been reading several threads here about the subject, but I am still unclear on the route I want to take. I will ask a few questions and post plenty of pics.
1. Would an 1.5 aluminum square tube transom stacked on top of each other be better than wood? basically cover the same area the wood would cover but use 1.5 aluminum tubing instead.
2. I can't seem to find any 3/4 plywood except the regular pine, birch, or oak. Where do I get the 3/4 inch non-treated exterior plywood or marine plywood? They do not seem to have it at my local loses or home depot.
3. The boat doesn't leak a drop, should I use the seem sealer anywhere? I may strip and repaint the boat later sometime.
4. What is the best epoxy to coat the wood before mounting it back on? Do I need to coat the aluminum with anything, and how thick, how to apply, etc? Once I put epoxy on the wood, just drill through it with all mountings, and use stainless bolts covered with 5200... do I need to re-epoxy the drill holes and bolts?
5. How do I need to clean and prepare the raw aluminum to remove all the damage and corrosion, I do not understand the jb weld process to fill unwanted holes and damage, how do I apply and keep it smooth on both sides of the hole?
6. The inside had a 52"x10" tall piece of wood 1.5 inches thick, the outside had a half inch sheet of plywood that ran all the way to the bottom of the boat, is this outside piece necessary? What all needs support? is the one beam cross the top of the transom enough. The boat is rated for a 25 horse and I have a 15 yamaha on it now.
7. Exactly where should the foot of the engine fall on the bottom of the boat? I know the transom will have to rise above the aluminum on the back of the boat, is this a problem?
I will post a couple times to post all the pics. Here is pics before the repair.
I bought my first boat this past april, a 14' aluminum sea nymph and I am still fixing it up. My latest project is to replace a working, but soft wood transom. During the process, I am planning to raise the transom to put my engine at the right height in the water. I ripped the old out yesterday, and discovered a fair amount of damage to the aluminum, but I don't think it is so much it will need major repair. I have been reading several threads here about the subject, but I am still unclear on the route I want to take. I will ask a few questions and post plenty of pics.
1. Would an 1.5 aluminum square tube transom stacked on top of each other be better than wood? basically cover the same area the wood would cover but use 1.5 aluminum tubing instead.
2. I can't seem to find any 3/4 plywood except the regular pine, birch, or oak. Where do I get the 3/4 inch non-treated exterior plywood or marine plywood? They do not seem to have it at my local loses or home depot.
3. The boat doesn't leak a drop, should I use the seem sealer anywhere? I may strip and repaint the boat later sometime.
4. What is the best epoxy to coat the wood before mounting it back on? Do I need to coat the aluminum with anything, and how thick, how to apply, etc? Once I put epoxy on the wood, just drill through it with all mountings, and use stainless bolts covered with 5200... do I need to re-epoxy the drill holes and bolts?
5. How do I need to clean and prepare the raw aluminum to remove all the damage and corrosion, I do not understand the jb weld process to fill unwanted holes and damage, how do I apply and keep it smooth on both sides of the hole?
6. The inside had a 52"x10" tall piece of wood 1.5 inches thick, the outside had a half inch sheet of plywood that ran all the way to the bottom of the boat, is this outside piece necessary? What all needs support? is the one beam cross the top of the transom enough. The boat is rated for a 25 horse and I have a 15 yamaha on it now.
7. Exactly where should the foot of the engine fall on the bottom of the boat? I know the transom will have to rise above the aluminum on the back of the boat, is this a problem?
I will post a couple times to post all the pics. Here is pics before the repair.
