Transom rebuild help for newbie

[oklahomariverfisherman]

Hello all,

I have been reading these forums for a couple weeks and finally decided to join. It go annoying not being able to look at all the pictures and links.

I've always loved to go camping and throw some lines out. Several trips ago we decided to go on the river and put out some bank lines as well. The people at the other camp site were taking their small boats down the river, setting limblines, anchor above holes and fish for bass, and not to mention shooting any feral hogs they spotted along the way. This was way too intriguing to not get a boat. MY father-in-laws boss had an old boat for sale that would be perfect for the river as well as fishing other shallow lakes we have around. It was 14' so it was big enough for me, my wife, and son so we were set. The only problem was the outboard that came on it was a 1950 something sears and roebuck special (supposedly a 3 horse). Needless to say we decided if the river was flowing and we had any additional weight going back up the river to camp may no longer be an option.

I looked and looked, came acrossed plenty of junk, and finally found a used Nissan 9.9 that was barely used. I went and picked it up only to find that I needed a bit of lift on it to fit the boat right. My transom will need some work to support the motor and the lift I am planning to build for it. It seems someone else has had this problem with the boat and welded in a piece that looks like a ramp. They have also twisted a wire in to help suppor the weight of what I figured was a larger outboard. What can I say, I do live in the land of farmers and ranchers so how else would you fix a boat than with fencing wire? From what I understand I need to take out the metal brace and double layer plywood to rebuild the transom as suggested in the forums. Will I need to add any additional bracing after I do this (what about the wire, redo it? ha ha)? Any other suggestions would be great as well . Oh, I plan to build the type of jackplate that uses 4 aluminum angle irons and a piece of wood between them to bolt the outboard to.

 

[oklahomariverfisherman]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

Ok, so I'm thinking that the boat never had a wood transom, but I need to just put one in. IS there any addition bracing needed? Was this just originally just a rowboat or something?

 

[oklahomariverfisherman]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

Bump!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

I think that angled brace is supposed to be there, if you remove it you just have to replace with the same idea. I'd leave it and try it first.
Lots of guys have fitted transom risers for longer outboard legs.
Just do a search.

Is it a jonboat?

 

[oklahomariverfisherman]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

I was planning to remove the angle piece since it is barely welded in anyhow. I was then going to build a wooden transom and brace it on the side with angle iron aluminum attached with screws to the wood, and with the angle iron welded to the sides of the boat. I then planned to take angle iron and run it fomr the top of the boat above the wooden transom and down welding it to the runner under the seat, to the sides of where the motor would be. The two angle pieces on the top and sides I planned to leave.

Here is a link to the jackplante plans I was going to use: http://www.dillon-racing.com/jackplate/plans/jack-plate-page-01.htm. These plans seems simple enough. I have already started to mark the leaks on the bottom, so I can have them welded shut and gluvit the inside. I am still trying to decide whether to gluvit or just have it rhino-lined. I am afraid the rhino might get slick.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

Gluvit is what most guys use, rhino liner might be a nitemare if you have to remove it. I would tig weld the angle brace thats already there or replace with same design,

but eliminating that center brace and installing a bigger engine , I dunno, the keel might buckle up and crack along the bottom of the transom.
Outboards put a lot of force into the transom and it must be transmitted to the hull properly, you will be transferring the force into the gunnel, that leaves the keel without reinforcement and the engine is still applying load to the keel area along the transom.

 

[oklahomariverfisherman]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

I was going to remove that brace and fabricate a new one. That thing is somewhat flimsy, and I was hoping I could do a better job on the new one. I was thinking of welding angle iron to the round tubing that is above the small piece of wood that is above the current brace. Since I am purchasing 4 x 4 x 1/4 aluminum angle for the jackplate I figured I would get extra and use that for a brace. The problem with the current one is that when I go to bolt on the jackplate I believe it will need to be bolted under where the current brace is. I figured that by opening it up with a different system I would fix this problem, make the whole transom open for plywood placement as well. Someone has already put too much strain on the back of this boat by mounting too heavy of a motor to it. I plan to have the welder fix this when he is getting the holes in the bottom.

The other concern is that once I put down the gluvit and paint, that the bottom of the boat will be slick. I guess I should put sand on top of the gluvit before I paint to give some grip.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

Welcome to another Okie! Basically you need to know a few things. Raising the height of the transom to accomodate your engine can and will modify the center of gravity for your boat and make it succeptible to capsizing. Having said that, if you decide to continue with your project this video on Youtube offers some ideas for bracing. You will need some exterior 3/4 inch plywood, fiberglass cloth and resin ( you can get all of this at Lowes or Home Depot). take the measurements of your transom and cut the plywood to fit. The better it fits the stronger it will be. You will use the resin to glue and bolt the wood to the transom. Make sure to put plenty of resin in your bolt holes to seal em up. Use Stainless. Your corner bracing (gussets) will need to come out if you want to do a good job on the transom. You can always get lots of help here on the forum. Make sure to provide pics of your work and someone will surely have been there and done that. Good luck.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

I was going to remove that brace and fabricate a new one. That thing is somewhat flimsy, and I was hoping I could do a better job on the new one. I was thinking of welding angle iron to the round tubing that is above the small piece of wood that is above the current brace. Since I am purchasing 4 x 4 x 1/4 aluminum angle for the jackplate I figured I would get extra and use that for a brace. The problem with the current one is that when I go to bolt on the jackplate I believe it will need to be bolted under where the current brace is. I figured that by opening it up with a different system I would fix this problem, make the whole transom open for plywood placement as well. Someone has already put too much strain on the back of this boat by mounting too heavy of a motor to it. I plan to have the welder fix this when he is getting the holes in the bottom.

The other concern is that once I put down the gluvit and paint, that the bottom of the boat will be slick. I guess I should put sand on top of the gluvit before I paint to give some grip.

Flimsy by itself perhaps, but light and rigid ,its strength comes from its triangular positioning between keel and transom. I suppose you ought to double up if you're doubling down on power.
I play around with Tig, its a bugger trying to weld thin to thick alum, you'll need a real pro to do the job. No problem for a guy with that skill.

 

[oklahomariverfisherman]

Re: Transom rebuild help for newbie

I got very worried about the COG problem because I will often have a 3 year old in the boat. I have emailed all the reccomended salvage motor dealers lookin for the part sto convert my long shaft to a short. No luck yet, but I really don't think that 4 or 5 inches will kill me. I think am going to go ahead as planned unless I can find a good deal on the parts. Otherwise, new ones are way too expensive. I am going to have the welder weld the current brace in better and after I add a transom I will put more bracing in. I have been taking pictures, I just need time to get them up on a restore thread. Thanks for the advice guys.