So it’s crunch time and I’ll be working steady on the boat for the rest of the month. I’ve been waiting to fill the transom holes with welds before I button down the deck, but I’ve changed my plans a bit.
I’m going to use rivets below the transom wood, where it’s only the aluminum sheet.
I can use the holes to mount a transducer block (stern saver). That way I can screw transducers into the hdpe block rather than the transom.
I’m also considering if just epoxying over the other holes is an option. I think I’ll try to weld one and decide after that. The risk of warping is my biggest concern. I hate trying to flatten aluminum, and it never just shapes like steel. One wrong move and it stretches, and shrinking aluminum without welding is voodoo witchcraft I think.
ive asked on a couple welding forums and got mixed advice. Some with aluminum boat welding experience suggest I not weld, and some tell me they do it all the time. One even owning a boat repair business gave me his method.
Welding thin aluminum is not easy. Too hot for too long and it drops out or burns away. The line is razor thin as it takes a fraction of a second to go from good to bad. I can fill even 3/8” holes on practice pieces taken from the boat, but I’m not sure if I’ll get a warp on the real deal.
I bought $60 worth of SS and Aluminum thick plates to clamp to the area and soak up the heat and keep things flat. Yet the area will be shrunk regardless. The trick is to peen the weld with hammer on dolly strike(s) right after welding. I can practice this on loose pieces, and my clamped pieces stay flat, but who knows how the actual transom will act.
My plans on spending the $650 for the $1200 welder and avoid paying the $300-$500 for getting someone to weld it for me, has gone astray. I’m now $1300 in on the welder. Yet I plan on doing quite a bit with it, so no regrets so far.
So on the immediate to do list is,
rivet below transom wood holes
rivet transom shelf
fit transom wood and drill holes. My 3/4” aluminum plate will double as my drill guide for that task.
Over drill holes and epoxy holes.
Cut notches and fit EPS sheets for under deck.
Test fit deck wood, and mark exact marks for ‘doublers’, then screw, glue and seal them.
Test fit knee brace and mark out the transom wood flanges to be welded. Then weld the flanges.
5200 butter, bolt and rivet outter hull bottom knee brace support plate.
Gluvit those bolts and rivets and a half dozen others not done already.
Drill, rivet and seal deck wood down
redrill transom wood holes through epoxy.
By then I should have the seats and vinyl decking, so that will get me close to the finish line, or at least to where the boat will be usable.
Sheesh, that’s quite the list. I’ll have to go full out DozerII mode, lol.