Restoration 1959 Aluma Craft FD

[roameroftheearth]

White Oak would be my choice for the transom wood top coated with 3 coats of spar varnish.

I think for the cost, strength and look I'm going to go with white oak. I've heard great things and don't want to laminate anything.

 

[roameroftheearth]

Three good non-wood options...

1. Coosa Bluewater
2. 1-1/2" schedule 40 square aluminum tubing stacked
3. Pre-made aluminum transom from TBN - TBnation Aluminum Transoms
4. SeaCast molded and installed as one piece. www.transomrepair.net

1. Coosa cuts and fits pretty much like wood, so it's the easy choice, and it will never rot, obviously. Costs a couple hundred bucks, last time I bought some.

2. The stacked aluminum USED to be a cheap, better way to do it, but now aluminum is $$$, so not sure the current cost. Depends on where you buy. Pretty easy to do, though. Cut them to size, lay on a flat surface and weld them together and sand flat. Requires a MIG or TIG welder with Argon gas shielding, or just take it to a shop, which should be pretty cheap. My last boat had this, and it was absolutely flawless. I miss that boat! Mine was raised to a 20" transom. Ground the top weld flat, then gave up and left the ugly beads. Added a solid transom plate, and it was awesome. Super strong, and lighter than the wood.
View attachment 119899

3. You can also buy a pre-made one from TinyBoatNation. It looks like they run $500-$700

4. SeaCast is a 3rd option. I have used a lot of SeaCast over the years, and it's an excellent product. It is about the same density as wood, (floats in water) but is super-duper-tough, extremely strong. It is about $250/ 5 gal. bucket, and it looks like my old boat would have used 2 buckets, so about the same cost as aluminum:
View attachment 119898

With the Seacast, you need to make a mold of your transom shape, mix and pour the transom, strike it flat, and then install as usual. It's really awesome stuff.

I had all of these options available when I did my last rebuild last year. I ended up using doubled plywood, sealed well. I probably won't have this boat more than 20 years, so I am not worried about ever having to replace it. I surely sealed mine better than the factory, so it will probably last even longer.

If I had a lifetime boat, I would probably go with the aluminum tube transom. I love that it's so light, keeping my transom as light as possible.

I would absolutely love to go with some coosa board. Still might if I can't find any white oak locally.

 

[roameroftheearth]

Got the steering mech installed. A little upset I chose to put the bracket on the front side of the console but it's okay. Made a reinforcement bracket for the back side so the mechanism doesn't move at all. Also added a couple coats of filler primer to the wheel and it's looking great.
Also keep in mind i will he removing all of it to prep and paint the aluminum before its on the water. This was mostly for the mock up phase.

 

[LDUBS]

To me the bracket being in front doesnt' detract at all. Is there is any benefit to enlarging the front bracket so the entire bezel sits on it? Something like this maybe:

 

[roameroftheearth]

To me the bracket being in front doesnt' detract at all. Is there is any benefit to enlarging the front bracket so the entire bezel sits on it? Something like this maybe:

View attachment 119926

That's fair. That is what I wanted to do initially. And I may still do it as I just don't like the look. I was just working with what local shops had avalible for aluminum sheet.

 

[LDUBS]

Shoot, once it is painted it will hardly be noticeable.