What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

83Evinrude

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
290
Our new to us boat has the speedometer pickup mounted where it runs into a bunk on the trailer if the boat is loaded to the bow stop.

I want to move the pickup in between the bunks but I'm not sure what to use to seal/plug up the old holes. Ideally I would like it to be white and permanent.

Any suggestions to do it right?
 

southtexas

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
Messages
137
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

3m Marine Sealant 5200-quick cure. Most big outdoor stores carry it.
 

NSBCraig

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
1,907
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

Marine Tex

5200 won't get hard- since your not reusing the holes use marine tex.
 

wspray

Recruit
Joined
Jul 18, 2009
Messages
1
epoxy resin for transom

epoxy resin for transom

The posts here have been very helpful. Old rotted transom is out of 16' Smokercraft aluminium. Have glued two 3/4 plywood sheets together, and have my 3M 5200 to caot the bolts when I put it back in. The question is what is epoxy resin (name brands if you can) or what should I use to seal the new transom before installing it. I have thought of getting it sprayed with a bed liner material i.e. rhino liner, will this work? A couple of posts mentioned "glassing" it? Okay, I've demonstrated my ignorance enough for one day. Thanks for any suggestions.
 

tboltmike

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Messages
340
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

You can minimize the number of holes in your transom by installing a sacrificial plastic plate.
I used a 1/2 thick polypro plate cut to fit the contour of the transom where it meets the bottom. It was cut to be flush with the hull for a smooth flow. The plate is about 12 inches wide and will accept the speedo, depth sounder, and speed paddle wheel transducers.
The plate covers all of the old drillings. These old holes were first pluged by saturating the holes with epoxy resin and tight fitting wood dowels saturated with epoxy were driven in the holes. The dowels were cut flush with the transom and sanded .
The plate was mounted using a thin coat of the 3M adhesive and four SS screws. A little extra 3M was added at the old holes and 4 mounting screws.

No more screwing directly into the transom.
 

SeanT

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 8, 2009
Messages
661
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

Damn that's a hell of an idea.
 

highN'dry

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
96
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

Use epoxy resin for the old holes, 5200 for the new holes and use a transducer plate like this one. Mine is oversize because I need to mount two transducers. Only one is mounted here, the other one is now mounted to the left side of the plate. The plate eliminates a myriad of holes in the transom. Only two screws and 5200 hold the plate to the hull. The plate is 3/4 Starboard.

DSCF0019.jpg
 

NSBCraig

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
1,907
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

4200 for new holes not 5200
 

Home Cookin'

Fleet Admiral
Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
9,715
Re: What Product to - Seal screw holes in Transom?

I was looking at the 5200 and similar products recently--damned expensive when you just need a drop, and the tube said to use the whole tube. Is that true? Or can you seal the tip and keep it around for a while?

Also, about sealing the transom: consider that no seals are perfect and by being sealed you risk trapping some water that could cause more damage than general dampness or small leaks. Remember the Dryvit problems? Maybe you want to seal the back side but not the front, or the bottom edge if it will be sitting on the bilge floor? Just a thought. I've only replaced transoms in jon boats so I can't really speak to a major internal job.
 
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