replacement of transom wood

[condonbob]

just bought a 1977 12' hewescraft alumimiun boat in great shape except i need to replace exterior transom wood. Wondering what wood would be best for long term in fresh water.

 

[5150abf]

Re: replacement of transom wood

depending on what motor you are putting on it 3/4'' exterior ply wood is fine, maybe double it up and glue it together with some Gorilla glue or similar.

Try to save as much of the old transom as possible to use as a pattern.

Also coat it really well with Thompsons wood sealer and remember to drilll all your holes and then seal it, the holes are usually where rot begins, this should last you many years.

 

[erikpn]

Re: replacement of transom wood

Join us in the restoration forum.

Use marine or exterior grade ply. I recommend the acx from lowes, sand it all smooth, and seal it with epoxy and fiberglass. All sides. Glue the boards together with epoxy if you need to.. a 12' boat won't take much of a motor so a 3/4 or 1" piece of ply might work. Standard wood sealers for decks won't cut it, they need to be touched up annually and you won't be able to access one face of the transom or any of the cut sides for many years (you hope). Predrill the holes oversize and fill with more epoxy. Redrill through the epoxied holes for whatever bolts you need.

 

[mrlassi1]

Re: replacement of transom wood

One of my boats is a 12' Sears Gamefisher, an aluminum vee. I replaced my transom wood about ten years ago using one layer inside and one layer outside of 3/4" exterior plywood sealed with the green wood preservative (my dad used to call it coppertox), although it may not be called that anymore. The preservative is green and sold at the box stores. I also used tee nuts and brass machine screws to hold everything in place. This boat stays outside all the time and the replacement transom is still solid. Note that I only use a 6 hp outboard and/or an electric motor on mine. You have options. This one is relatively inexpensive and easy to build. Good luck.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: replacement of transom wood

Do NOT use pressure treated plywood on an aluminum boat. The new PT has copper in it which reacts with and corrodes the aluminum. Also, Thompsons water seal is worthless. For sealing it my order of preference would be: resin and glass, just epoxy resin (painted to protect it from UV), spar varnish, quality porch & floor paint, my kid with some crayons, then finally Thompsons.

 

[boatflipper]

Re: replacement of transom wood

I have no experience with using wood sealer/stain on transoms so just out of curiosity-Why is Thompson's so bad? I realize it comes nowhere near close to what resin/glass would do but it couldn't hurt could it?
Just curious-not pushing anybody's buttons or anything

 

[ezmobee]

Re: replacement of transom wood

No it can't hurt. It's just colored wax really. I find it to be ineffective, and then makes it harder to properly do the job later. (I'm really biased cuz I really hate that stuff. Used it on my deck. HUGE waste of time.)

 

[boatflipper]

Re: replacement of transom wood

Interesting...thanks for the info.