Transom replacement time for my '59 Lonestar Flamingo

[Mr. Asa]

So I picked up a project at the start of COVID season. Good bones, but needed the wood replaced, so I've been cutting up some spare plywood to get some forms for actual flooring. I'm at the point where I need to do the transom and I don't see a great way to get to the "horns" at the top of the transom.

Click the photos for big versions.

Basic view of the transom space


The "horns" that go up under the cap, hard to see, but they go up about 1.5-2 inches under the cap



What I thought about doing is peeling the rubber trim line around and drilling out the rivets holding the cap on. That sounds like a bit of a pain, though. Anyone see a better way?

 

[Woodonglass]

I have a 1961 Flamingo. Did not replace transom but if I would have needed to, I would have cut the cap 18” in front of the transom and then repaired the 2 small cuts

 

[KJM]

I was wondering about the same situation. I'm thinking about doing what Woodonglass said and cutting the back part of the cap off and repairing the cut latter. Be careful taking of the rubber trim, its old and brittle and will easily break. mine did. I was shocked to see how much new trim line is!

 

[Mr. Asa]

I was wondering about the same situation. I'm thinking about doing what Woodonglass said and cutting the back part of the cap off and repairing the cut latter. Be careful taking of the rubber trim, its old and brittle and will easily break. mine did. I was shocked to see how much new trim line is!

Not sure how your boat is setup, but Woods' suggestion wouldn't work with my boat. Look at the last picture, the inside bottom edge of the cap. That's an aluminum trim ring. No way to cut that and reassemble properly without burning up the fiberglass around it.
My rubber trim was toast so I peeled enough back to get halfway up the hull and drilled out the rivets. So far its much easier than I'd imagine fiberglass work to be.

 

[gm280]

Rub rail insert is expensive for sure. But since you stated yours is already bad, you may as well remove it all and worry about that cost after you get the transom installed.

Once you get the rub rail insert off, you remove all the screws, or rivets, or whatever they used to install the aluminum rail. But be very careful when removing the aluminum. If you think rub rail insert is expensive, price out the aluminum rail part.

After you get the aluminum rail out of your way, then you should be able to work the transom without issues. Sounds like a workable plan to me. I have been there and done that for sure...