2003 Crestliner 1850 Fish Hawk DC transom rot

[striperday]

I have a 2003, Crestliner 1850 Fish Hawk DC. Im not the original owner. The wood needs to be replaced on the Transom. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ondarvr]

Look in the repair and restoration forum, lots of info and people there to help you.

 

[jbcurt00]

I'll move this topic over to the resto forum

Post some pix

I added the year make and model to your title

 

[mjf55]

Start with studying the various transom / stringer repair / restoration projects in this forum. Also set up a free Photobucket account so you can link pictures here.
Now start posting pictures of the problem and the experts will help as needed. Good luck.

 

[Isaacm1986]

Post some pictures and we can help out.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

:welcome: to the iboats and the dry dock Striper!

I'll throw out option #3 for posting pics as the best but any of the ways listed on that page will work to help get you started in the right direction.

 

[striperday]

Guys I'm very sorry I never got back to the site. I am ashamed of myself but life just got in the way. OK I am getting ready to remove the motor tomorrow. The transom is made of 1.75" UNTREADTED plywood which lies between the aluminum boat and another sheet of aluminum. There is no wonder it rotted out being untreated. Right now I can see a clear path to success but I need help on where to get Plywood that thick or other acceptable material. Thanks!

 

[jbcurt00]

Need to be 100% its a 1.75" thick sheet and not a swollen 1.5" sheet, then we can help figure out what sizes to laminate to get to the correct thickness.

Hopefully you meant un-painted/sealed plywood when you said the transom was un-treated.

You dont want to use pressure treated lumber anywhere on your aluminum boat.

 

[striperday]

Wow I had no idea not to use pressure treated wood. Actually I though it would have been treated or what I have heard people call Marine Board. Either way the existing transom was made from just plain untreated wood material. I measured the transom in a spot that had no swelling or rot. Its dead on the money 1.75".

 

[jbcurt00]

Post some pix, but laminated 1/2, 3/4, 1/2 glued up w TiteBond3, Gorilla Glue or epoxy and sealed w epoxy, spar varnish or paint will get you to 1.75in.

For plywood
Exterior grade (ACX, BCX)
Douglas Fir exterior ply
Auraco
MDO
Marine, its different then treated, and meets BS 1088 standard

^^^ In increasing order of price. And all are made w waterproof glue. Marine, MDO and maybe Auraco are made w boil proof glue. Make sure its MDO not mdf. Mdf is the carp cheap knockdown furniture is made of.

 

[Watermann]

If your crestliner has brackets that the wood transom slides in that's the best place to take the thickness measurement. I've noticed that in other crestliner transom replacements that the wood is 2". Not sure I've ever seen a 1.75" transom, very odd size if it is.

 

[striperday]

Upps!

 

[striperday]

I made a call to Crestliner to learn that the boards are 5/8" and its three layers laminated together. Well I can not find 5/8" at any of the lumber stores in my area. I can however find 19/32" board everywhere. From what I am learning the Nominal size is called 5/8" but to be more precise its actually 19/32". The difference is 3/32" Total width. If I find out that I am wrong and I actually can buy 5/8" board and it must be used in my boat I will have to find some type shim to use I guess. I hope Crestliner was correct about being able to use the 19/32" board. I went ahead and purchased the boards, Laminated them together using TiteBond3 as recommended and have cut the new transom out. Here are a few pictures. The pictures show the old board as if its one piece but actually they are just laying together as I placed them that way. The old transom just fell apart in the middle it was so deteriorated and rotted. No paint at all on the old transom nor were any of the bolt holes filled with any type caulking. Well am I in trouble for using the 19/32" board?

 

[Watermann]

Considering that Starcraft uses 1.5" transoms I would say using those 19/32 layers will come out just fine and be easier to manipulate into place with the sealer and paint on the wood without marring it up.

 

[Patfromny]

My transom was 1 1/4 " a few years older though. I ordered 5/8 from a lumber yard. They had to order it for me but it came in in about a week. Everything in mine was 5/8 so I ordered 6 sheets I think. Prices ran anywhere from 125 to 80 a board so shop around. I think I would go with 3 5/8 pieces again so there are no headaches. My transom was made from 2, 1/2 inch pieces and a 1/4" piece thrown in with no epoxy on any or even glue on the 1/4 inch piece. Good luck, looks like you've got a good head start.

 

[Watermann]

I forgot to mention, see that white on the old wood, that translates into corrosion on the inner transom skin. Be sure to clean it all off there, skin the pitting with MT or JB, prime and paint before installing the new wood transom.

 

[Patfromny]

I forgot to mention, see that white on the old wood, that translates into corrosion on the inner transom skin. Be sure to clean it all off there, skin the pitting with MT or JB, prime and paint before installing the new wood transom.

If his transom "sleeve" is anything like mine, it will be hard to paint it. Maybe use a 4" roller and a brush on a stick to prime and paint. They sell a roller handle called a long John for getting behind toilets that is long enough to get down the channel to prime and paint. Not a bad idea since you have the corrosion going on. Mine didn't have any corrosion at all so I left it but hind sight tells me I should have finished it since it was apart anyway.

 

[striperday]

I assume I need to paint this board even though the old board was never painted. Any recommendations as to the type of paint to use? Also I read where the edges of the boards need to have some type of treatment. Any recommendations?

 

[Tnstratofam]

You can paint it, epoxy coat it and then paint it, spar varnish it, or even fiberglass the board. From the factory I doubt they used any type of protectant so anything you apply is going to last longer than original. I spar varnished the transom in our Starcraft 2 years ago and it has held up great.

If you use epoxy be sure to either paint it or use a UV stabilizer as the epoxy will break down from sunlight anywhere the wood is exposed.

Whatever coating you use remember it will add a little thickness to the board that could make for a tight fit during reassembly. Fiberglass in particular will do this, but epoxy and spar varnish do as well.

On ours I added 3 coats of spar varnish per side with 6 total on the edges. Pay extra attention to the edges as the wood will wick water in faster there if not coated good.

 

[Patfromny]

here is the cheaper of the options. The more expensive way I to use epoxy and coat three or four times. Instead of polyurethane, he meant to say Varnish I believe. This is the minimum I would do. Once again, if your transom is like mine, it is completely covered when installed so no need to paint to protect from uv's. Good luck