How to replace inside of transom of sneak box from late 1960's

[rdhj]

I have a duck boat called a sneakbox from the late 1960's and the transom could use replacement, especially the inside piece which is rotted at the bottom. It is just a square piece and looks like there is a piece of fiberglass mat between the wood and the fiberglass of the hull. How do I go about removing this piece without destroying anything? How do I install the new piece..Is there anything special I have to do to prevents leaks?

 

[jbcurt00]

Got any pix of the transom and the wood/mat

 

[rdhj]

No Title

Not the best pics, but here you go

 

[Ned L]

Yep, that's a sneakbox transom. ....Well, if it were me I would go to Beaton Bros in Mantaloking and have them build me a proper cedar on oak one. Lol

Ok, it's a little transom, pretty simple job. I'd probably flip her over on saw horses to make getting in there easier. Take a cheap 'beater chisel' and mallet to cut through through the glass around the edges and just keep going at the ply, taking it out in pieces. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Then make a pattern from the inside (can use a couple of brown paper grocery bags cut open & taped together). Or for this, even just trace the outside and then reduce the size about 1/2 to 3/4 all the way around. When you like the fit, glue it in with thickened epoxy. A sneak box is so small you could probably even stand her on her transom against the house to make it easy to just put weights inside on the transom (stack of concrete block, etc) to 'clamp' the transom while the epoxy sets.
Really an easy little project. Good luck.

 

[rdhj]

i already got it out by hammering flat screwdriver behind it till i popped it off. Tried out a new one on some wood i had laying around, and just got done covering it in fiberglass epoxy. It is held to the boat by the two bolts coming from the outside piece. Is it necessary to glue it it to the inside. Doesn't seem like there is a reason to do so. i noticed the two holes where the bolts go through and around the inside of the big washer that there is some kind of white caulking. Any idea what that is so I could redo it?

 

[Ned L]

You are well on your way. On 'normal' boats you would want to glue it in, because the outboard is pushing the transom forward and so you need the ply bonded so the load is spread over the whole area. On a sneak box with a small outboard you should be able to get away with your plan ok. For that white 'adhesive - sealant' you could use Sikaflex, 3M 4200, Boatlife 'life caulk', or a variety of other similar sealant adhesives.

 

[rdhj]

I put the new transom inner piece inside the boat today. I the actually transom is little rotted so i wanted to fill in the space left by rotted wood behind the large washers that go against the transom. I did some reading and it looks like i should use 3M 4200. until I get around to buying some, I used some plumbers putty behind and around the washers. Do you think that will leak? will it hold up against the salt water?

 

[Ned L]

That should work fine until you can get some 4200. ..... What size outboard are you using? .... Guessing maybe 6 - 8 hp?

 

[rdhj]

That should work fine until you can get some 4200. ..... What size outboard are you using? .... Guessing maybe 6 - 8 hp?

it is a mercury 6 hp

 

[rdhj]

No Title

Here is what I ended up with...the black is from me hitting it with a rubber mallet....guess there was some resin inside the hole stopping the bolt from going through

 

[rdhj]

I have decided to replace the outside transom also. Got a plank of wood and putting two coats of fiberglass on it...will then put some duck boat paint onto of that. Bolting it to the back of the boat with the four bolt holes and will use some sealant around the washers..is there anything else I should do? like slant around the edge of the plank and boat?

 

[Ned L]

Looks good. Other than chamfering the edges as you said, it sounds like you have it covered.

 

[rdhj]

what is chamfering? do i need to worry about sealant around edges of where plank and boat meet?

 

[Ned L]

what is chamfering?

Sorry about that "chamfering the edges" = "slant around the edge of the plank and boat".

do i need to worry about sealant around edges of where plank and boat meet?

it won't hurt, but it won't do to much to help. If you are using solid lumber, make sure the grain of the wood is running vertically. The best would be a number of layers of plywood glued together then cut to the shape you want.

 

[rdhj]

How do I go about chamfering the edges...do you have a picture of it...not really sure what it is supposed to be and why.

 

[Ned L]

You can chamfer it just a little with even just sandpaper. (or more with a router, plane, chisel, etc) The best reason for this is that paint doesn't like to stay on sharp corners to well. the corners will stay protected better if the are 'broken' or chamfered a bit.

 

[jbcurt00]

The edges rounded over is even better IMO then chamfered

 

[fhhuber]

Chamfering is just cutting off the corners a bit, normally at a 45 deg angle.
Partly an appearance thing, partly taking the square corner off so it won't get chipped off....

You can just round off the corners with some sandpaper and it will be fine. Serves the same purpose.

 

[Ned L]

Yep,... Both work just fine.

 

[rdhj]

I'm guessing this only needs to be done to the outside edges and not the edges against the boat? Also, I need to get some paint and was wondering what would happen if I used basic exterior paint instead of the marine paint?