New Member with new project boat

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Travm70

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Hello... new to the site. I have a project that I'm just getting started with. It's an 86 Lowe 1436 with a Mercury 15hp 4 stroke. From what I was told I'm the third owner. The guy I got it from brought it from someone who duck hunted with it and he slapped some paint on it after the camo paint started to peel. The paint looks really rough... but I'm not too worried about that at the moment.
How it looked when I first got it home.
IMG_1912.JPG
I've since taken the seats and all the electrical equipment off it.
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And then started poking around the rest of the boat and discovered the Transom board was rotten and I've tore that out.
IMG_1930.JPG
There is a lot of work to be done on this thing. Overall its in pretty decent shape. I want to add casting decks to the front and rear using aluminum angle to frame it out. I plan to leave the area between the middle and rear seats open. I'm going to put 1.5 inch Styrofoam between the ribs.
For the transom redo... I have a 9.25X1.25 LVL that I want to use and I think I want to put an additional piece of aluminum angle between the corner brackets. That might be over doing it, I just want to make sure it's sturdy.
My big question now is the strip of aluminum that was under the old transom board.... it runs behind the 2 "seat" like things on both sides of the boat and its riveted in. To it seemed like a place to collect water.
Can this be cut out? and the pieces left in place that I can't get to?
Does the new transom board need to be as wide as the old one?
Is there something that I can coat behind the transom board that will seal it? do I need to take it down to bare metal to seal it?

Thanks for any help!
Travis
 
Welcome Aboard, Travis !!

#1 = power wash the whole inside of the boat.
are the corner caps of the transom welded on ?
do you have any stress cracks anywhere in the transom metal ?
how thick was the original transom wood panel ?
in my world, I would either remove that piece of metal or drill it full of holes.
if you properly fabricate and seal the new transom wood panel, you will not
have any future issues with premature wood deterioration.

use the "search" feature in the upper right corner for any concerns you may have.

as for the overall project - SMALL BITES will lessen the frustration factor.
address each area of concern separately - each project will have its on method.

as for the LVL transom panel: although the Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)
is constructed with "waterproof" adhesives, it is still considered an interior product.
it is not designed for outside use unless it is properly sealed, preserved and either
varnished or painted.
I would approach his project last - after everything else is done. and process it the
same way as the regular plywood transom panel described several times in this forum.



.
 
Thanks
Power washing is on the list
Yes the caps are welded
The old one came out in pieces it was so far gone
From the width between the cap and bottom of the piece that is there... it was about 7.5 to 8 inches wide by about 1.25 thick. I plan to seal and paint it.
I'm cutting that metal at the bottom out.
My concern with the width of the new transom board and trying to get it in... those "seat" (I'm sure they have a name) like things are in the way.
 
in the "search" box in the upper right corner,
put in "how to remove a bench seat" and you
will find dozens and dozens of members that
have addressed this very same issue.......
the method of attachment, (welded or riveted),
will present its on method for removal.
do a lot of research prior to just cutting stuff out.
and how to address replacing rivets, if removed.

maybe this picture will give you some clear descriptions.
stern.jpg




.
 
If you cut those corner caps off and the top angle rather that the bottom one wouldn't the new transom slide right down in? That's how I did the two I have done.
 
the Port and Starboard driver's seats provide reinforcement to the transom panel.
if you remove them, you must add additional knee braces to compensate for the loss.
- or - put the driver seats back as you found them after the wood panel project is done.
address all corrosion issues prior to priming and painting where any wood items may go.



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.
 
Thanks for the information I really appreciate it.
I really didn't want to get into cutting welds and removing a whole lot rivets. I'd have to find a weld shop and haul the boat back and forth.
I guess I look into that... it would probably be the right way to go about it.
 
Well I have to say this here... I was trying out an angle grinder and a paint remover wheel. Both recently purchased from Harbor Freight.... wanted to see how it would cut the paint off the transom. Well after maybe 3-4 mins of working the paint and what metal was already stripped of paint. The wheel flew apart and a piece of it smacked me on the arm. Large scraped area and major swelling to the forearm... it eventually went down after a couple hours of ice.
Gotta say it could have been a lot worse! What ever paint they put on this thing does not want to come off easy. I'd been working on it when I could with Aircraft Stripper...its a slow process. But it gets the job done. Guess I'm back to the slow and steady... small patch at a time.
I guess I'll get to test this boat out next Spring...
 
Today I took the the boat to a machine shop that I called about 20 mins away... I told them what I wanted and of course the guy said he'd have to see it. So I loaded it up and took it up there. The old guy said he didn't think my plan was the best way to go about it.
My plan.... cut the corner brackets and top of the transom cap off so that I could slide in a new Transom board and then weld everything back together...as someone here had previously advised.
His idea... cut a whole in the side of the boat where the Transom board would go... slide the new board in and then weld a patch over the hole.
Guess I need to find another machine shop.... unless I want to go the patch on the side option.

More than one way to skin a cat...
 
Well you all would have to say. That's a first, at least I hope. I don't think I'll be seeing him anymore just saying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
gatorglenn said:
Well you all would have to say. That's a first, at least I hope. I don't think I'll be seeing him anymore just saying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would stay far far away from that guy. I have done two transom replacements and I cut the corner caps and transom cap off. I have two builds on this site, check them out. .......................................................??????CUT THE SIDE OF THE BOaT??????
 
Cut out the side of the boat to slide the transom wood in, and then patch it--- #-o I would run away from that guy as fast as you can! Plenty of transoms have been replaced by members on here, highly doubt that any were done that way.
 
I've found another shop that I'm gonna have check out what I want done next week.

I just don't have all the tools to do it all. Guess we'll see how it goes.
 
Today I had the transom cap and corner caps removed by a machine shop. Got it home and ready to get the new transom board installed.
IMG_1958.JPG
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Is there something that I should seal this metal with before I install the new board?
My plan is to seal and paint the board before it's installed.
 
Finally got the transom board cut and fit into place last night. Next I need to get it sealed and finished...and find the bolts to get it attached. I'm thinking an oil based finish of some sort. Been reading a lot about using epoxy resin...I'll also need to decide on the finish of the wood decking. I won't to put carpet over the wood once its sealed.

Still so much work to do.

I'll post some pictures of the progress.
 
Would it be best to fit the board... drill all holes and fit bolts prior to sealing and finishing the board?
 
I've invested in the West Systems Epoxy Resin today.... guess we'll see how it all turns out.
Just need to find time to do the work. I'll start with the Transom Board and see how that turns out.
 
I would fine tune the transom panel to ensure a good firm fit.
drill all the holes 5/8", remove the panel and place on level surface,
tape the holes on the bottom side and fill the holes with epoxy until
it hardens flush with the surface. the plywood will soak up the epoxy fast,
so you must continually keep adding fresh material until it hardens flush with top.
if the epoxy just keeps oozing out and will not stop, this means you have a void
that is sucking out all the epoxy. skip that hole until the epoxy cures, then start again.
install the wood panel and clamp to the hull transom. drill the required holes
and the epoxy will act as a waterproof plug that will never be compromised
with water. use stainless hardware throughout.
you can coat the entire transom panel with epoxy if you want, but is not necessary.
keep in mind that epoxy is not UV tolerant - so it must be either varnished or painted after 2-3 days.
there are several good threads on this forum of how to fabricate and waterproof a transom panel.


.
 
That was another question... filling the holes.
Sounds like a really great idea. I plan to start finishing the board tomorrow.
I'll take a few pics along the way.

I also want to do something with the metal behind the board... any ideas? I was thinking of just spray in bedliner?

Any idea how this will all hold up when I have the transom cap welded back on?
 

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