12' Lowe v transom damage

[MWG2600]

My first new thread, im working on learning how to post pics correctly.

New to me 1985 lowe 12' v hull Im still wating on parts to get the 1986 johnson 9.9 running and upgraded to 15 hp.

The boat has a crack in the aluminum over the transom wood, its been repaired before i owned the boat. Wondering if i should run it as is for a year or 2 and then change the wet foam in the back compartments, the transom and have it welded when there is no wood in there. The transom is currently sturdy good factory wood in it still.

I will work on getting the pics resized and more added.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

Spoken like a true fisherman.

You know the right thing to do ?

It is still in alingment. DO NOT beat the day lights out of it. Then say, "I could have repaired it so easily before."

I would NOT try to reweld the old weld. VERY bad thing. Have a CLEAN plate about the same thickness welded OVER the breaks. Someone must grind off the old weld stuff. Make it flat there. Good welder and a 8" to 10" plate welded correctly does another 20 years.

Change any water soaked foam. It is slowing the 9.9 down...............My Lowe 16' loves the 9.9 HP electric start.

 

[NYBo]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

I'm with ol' One-eye. Fix it now before it gets worse- and it WILL get worse.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

NYBo

How far are you from Clayton / Watertown ?

 

[NYBo]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

NYBo

How far are you from Clayton / Watertown ?

About a 5 hours drive.

 

[MWG2600]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

I bought the boat from a close friend, Ive driven it like this for 2+ years without The crack changing. Give me a bit to resize the other pics.
The 9.9 got left without the cowling on and with the air box cover off. :facepalm: so ive got all the parts to repair the internal rust damage. and also the 15hp megaphone exhaust pipe and a 15 hp carb. and boysen reeds But the motor will be a different thread.

 

[NYBo]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

Bumping up to 15 HP may be the straw that breaks this camel's transom.

 

[5150abf]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

I would at the least get a peice of metal and put it between the clamps and the transom, maybe 2''-3'' wide and a foot long to help spread the load, it is the wood in thransom that takes the load, that thin aluminum woudln't support anything by itself so as long as the wood is in really good shape you should be fine, a few extra bolt through the transom wouldn't hurt either.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

.................. But the motor will be a different thread.

fixed it



I would not run it at all without fixing.... that includes the last two years you ran it..... not me

that, said, you can fix a crack quite easily with a 2-4" strip of aluminum... some 5200 and a bag of closed pop rivets... not pretty but just as strong as anything else

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

looking closer at the pics... I really doubt that wood is as healthy as you think it iis

 

[3rdtimesthecharm]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

I`ve got one that looks like that.Going to start this weekend removing the wood and get the transom welded.Going to replace the wood with 2 pieces of 3/4 in. wolmanized plywood.That is what appears to be in there from the factory.The foam in my benches appears to be closed-cell foam.

 

[lncoop]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

Bumping up to 15 HP may be the straw that breaks this camel's transom.

My sentiments exactly, and even with the transom restored to its original strength, be keerful. Fifteen horseys is quite a few for a twelve foot john. Welcome aboard.

 

[southkogs]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

12' fishing type boat? Isn't it probably cheaper to find another one than to fix this one? Just my 2?.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

Going to replace the wood with 2 pieces of 3/4 in. wolmanized plywood.

If by "wolmanized" you mean a specific brand of pressure treated wood you know if compatible with aluminum......then by all means carry on. However, if you mean that you're going to pop on down to the home center and pick up some pressure treated plywood then STOP! The new pressure treated severely corrodes aluminum and should not be used.

 

[MWG2600]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage



I had thought about putting an aluminum plate on the outside of the transom, about the size of the primer spot. But ill have to sand down all the primer and redo the transom paint job. i don't want to seal bad primer between two layers of aluminum. And bolting the plate with stainless bolts through the transom.

Not as a bandage for bad wood. but so the stress is spreed to each side of the cracked aluminum.
I dont want to pull the foam out and redo the wood this year. but next winter i plan to do the expanding foam in the 2 side compartments (they have to come out first to get the transom out) , pull the transom wood out and have the crack tig welded correctly. Then put it all back together with new sealed wood and new foam. (with the compartments sealed so water cant get in)

Thanks for the help, ill be needing more as time goes by.

 

[seven_magnum]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

I had a crack just like this on my 14' springbok. The only difference was mine was not repaired by any one before and the wood on the transom was like new. To fix it, I first cut the crack out of the metal with a dremel because I did not want it to continue to crack while I tried to braise it closed. After it was cut out (maybe 1/8" wide at the largest spot) I used some aluminum braising rods I purchased from the local welding supply store to braise it shut. The first attempt held for about 5 minutes before I herd POP! I guess as the aluminum cooled it put stress on the braise and it broke. I cut the crack out again and braised it a second time. This time, I kept the heat to it for about a minute so it cooled very slowly. It has been about a year and I haven't had any problems yet. I practiced braising aluminum cans before I worked on the boat and found it was not very hard to do. I can post a picture of this later if it would help!

Foster

 

[3rdtimesthecharm]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

If by "wolmanized" you mean a specific brand of pressure treated wood you know if compatible with aluminum......then by all means carry on. However, if you mean that you're going to pop on down to the home center and pick up some pressure treated plywood then STOP! The new pressure treated severely corrodes aluminum and should not be used.

I had heard that but everyone I asked about it thought I was crazy.I have a friend in the lumber business.I`m gonna give him a call.I`ll Google it too.

 

[MWG2600]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage





Started the transom rebuild, more pics and questions coming.

 

[MWG2600]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage

 

[MWG2600]

Re: 12' Lowe v transom damage




What kind of wood do you think it is? my dad thinks mahogany or teak I'm going to stain it and seal it with poly, That is the first thing i want to get finished. But i dont have a clue what products i should use, much less what color stain i should get. and what kind of wood putty to use? Thanks in advance for your advice. Oh btw the wood is completely dry and i can jump on it between 2 chairs and it hardly flexes.

Oh and you can see in the foam where they had taken the transom apart to weld the crack the first time, I think that maybe the original transom wood was PT wood, that would make all the corrosion make more sense.