1959 Lone Star Malibu

[walbert52]

Well I finally was able to get the title to the boat so now its legal. I need to replace the wood on the transom which did come out without to much trouble after I drilled out all the rivet, so my next couple of questions are as follows 1) does the wood need to go to the floor or just the way it came out, it was about 5 inches from the bottom. 2) The transom is only 16 inches high, I would like to increase it to 20 inches if possible. I don't know if it would be worth the trouble just for 4 inches, the motor is a 1957 Evinrude 35 hp which is about 19 1/2 inch from clamp to the plate. The boat has solid rivets which is no problem to buck just takes time. I could replace the whole rear of the boat with a new sheet of aluminum to make it look more factory... What do you guys think and any thoughts would be greatly appreciated:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[Texasmark]

In looking at sales brochures of the day and having at least one OMC engines of the day, I noticed that most engines were mounted low on the transom putting the AV plate...horizontal plate just above the prop, an inch or so below the bottom of the boat. Couple of reasons for that just guestimating: On the side of the engine just above the AV plate is a cooling access port. I don't know if that plate has to be in the water when running or if it's just a drain hole for when the engine is off and not pumping water, for residual water to exit. Second is the exhaust is out the back and just below the AV plate. If this plate is not buried under say at least 1" of water the exhaust will blow out into the air and it will be an unbearable racket.

Also back in the days when the 35 hp was top dog, 25 mph was clipping along pretty good and lower unit drag wasn't an issue so if it's deeper so what. Good side of deeper is holding in turns and rough waterd as props of the day were pretty basic. I think you would do well to put it back like it was, same for how low you go with the wood. I redid the transom on an 18' I/O and it was like that too, as were other alum. boats. As far as asthetics go, suit yourself on covering the whole transom with sheet alum. I didn't replace the alum on my I/O. I did use 2 layers of 3/4 CD plywood to get 1 1/2" thickness and marine glued them together. Also treated the wood with 50/50 Linseed oil and Naptha (Home Depot). The oil protects the wood and the Naptha dilutes it, allowing it to seep into the crevices of the wood where it needs to be.

 

[walbert52]

I am just thinking of the transom being so short that when the boat slows down in a rush the water would come over the transom. Is that a problem to be worried about???

 

[jbcurt00]

Thats what splashwells are for.

Off hand I dont recall whether the Malibu came w one from the factory, and if it did is it still present?

 

[smokeonthewater]

If the wake catches you and comes over the transom, you need a boating lesson.... Reduce throttle smoothly and stay ahead of the wave instead of just chopping the throttle.