1958 Lone Star Nassau

[Tigerguy]

I just bought a '58 Nassau also (well, more hull than boat), its my first boat. I need to replace the wood transom. I was hoping there's a better way than cutting out the aluminum fins and welding back into place. Any tips or photos of 'completed' projects from other owners?

 

[jbcurt00]

tigerguy, please review the rules and guidelines and try not to post into inactive topics, esp not to ask questions about your own boat in their topics. After 90 days w/ no new posts, topics are considered inactive.

It's been well over a year since there were any new posts to those topics you posted this into, and over a year since either member even logged on to iboats.

I moved one of your posts to a topic of your own about your LS, and closed the inactive topics

The tin boat fellas will be along to help and harass you.

Good luck and please post some more pix of your Nassau. It looks to me like it's got some corrosion (all that salty looking stuff) on the transom

And no, there's really no other way to install the transom plywood other then dismantling some portion of the transom, the fins or cutting them. The boat seems to have been built around the transom wood originally. Pix will certainly help..

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

:welcome: to iboats Tigerguy!

I'd be interested in seeing better pics of how the seams the yellow arrows point to are put together and what you have for braces/obstructions are on the inside of the transom in general and at the red arrow.

Those wings give those hulls an extra flare glad to see one saved.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Oooopps suppose it helps if I attach the pic

 

[64osby]

A pic or two of the inside and the inside corners would help.

It looks like the fins might be riveted. If that is true drill the rivets and remove the fins. Might be able to get by doing just one side.

 

[Tigerguy]

Sincere thanks for the posting tips and the help. I tied to take some photos as requested. I started stripping some of the 5 layers of paint (I think two reds, orange, black,and grey) - sorry for the technicolor appearance. The boat had two steel diamond plates on either side of the transom and a U-shaped aluminum cap (all had been removed already by previous owner). Perhaps the dissimilar metals caused some of the corrosion shown in the first pic. There was no wood remaining of the 'original' plywood transom except in the extreme corners where a few thousand ants had taken up lodging. Please let me know if any additional photos would be helpful.

 

[jbcurt00]

IMO, you'll need to remove the corner triangle shaped pieces at a minimum to get new transom wood installed.

I like the Nassau and its smaller 14ft brother the Malibu

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Hard to tell from the pic but if there is a channel in the corner (red arrow) the wood needs to slide into then the below won't work.

If not I'd be tempted to try bending the corner of the gusset down (black arrow)



And removing this line of rivets on both sides (or whatever fastener if there)



And see if I could flex the fins up enough to pivot the new transom wood into place from the inside.

If there is a channel then all bets are off and you'll need to remove the triangle as JB said and hope there is enough flex to be able to slide it in from the top.

 

[Tigerguy]

No Title

Thanks again for the advice. There was another '58 Nassau restoration here and the owner cut the fins to install the new transom (photo from that project below) Cool boat design - built for a 25 yr consumer life span, not a convenient restoration 60 yrs later. Now to search for local aluminum boat welders! Will continue posting progress updates. Thanks again!

 

[64osby]

Most old riveted tin boats are made with alumimun that doesn't play well with welding. It hardens the aluminum and over time the hull will start cracking. Do some internet searching, you will find posts where owner chased the welds with more welding and it repeats until the hull makes it to the scrap yard.

IMO you need to find a way to flip or slip the new transom wood in place. Adding new rivets or splice plates would be my course of action, not welding.