Will these work to seal my wood transom?

s freud

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I have an aluminum boat and am replacing the 14 x14" wood transom brace. I went to the Depot to find some Spar Varnish that everyone here is so big on but could not find any. My question is can I use any or all of these instead? I bought 3/4" exterior grade plywood, although I had to go around and around with the guy that I did NOT want pressure treated.

boat 008.jpgboat 009.jpgboat 010.jpg
 

Yacht Dr.

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Do you have a Topcoat in mind for the trans side ( painting ) ?

2 part epoxy is best IMHO ..

YD.
 

s freud

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Do I need something extra? I thought I would like the look of just the plan wood. Like Jigngrub said, I plan to use 3 or 4 coats.
 

jigngrub

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Nah, you'll be fine with those.

2 part epoxy is the best sealer, but it isn't readily available in most areas at stores. People mainly order it online in larger quantities than what you need. If you were doing your transom and new decking it would be worth ordering the epoxy, but for just a little bit of transom wood the others will be fine.
 

Captmills

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

check the rustolium section of the store, they make a spar varnish that will work well otherwise your good, the factory only used exterior ply and mine lasted 47 years so...
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Be sure to ask or read the label that what you are using has UV protection. I do know the Spar Varnish that Ace Hardware sells does.
 

Yacht Dr.

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Do I need something extra? I thought I would like the look of just the plan wood. Like Jigngrub said, I plan to use 3 or 4 coats.

No you dont need anything else.. I just didnt know if you were using it for sealer or topcoat.

Minwax also sells a spar varnish that is good.

YD.
 

s freud

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

I feel like someone should have warned me that stainless steel bolts would cost me a kidney... So now that I have my bolts do I need to use stainless washers and nuts as well? My plan is to have wood on the inside and outside of my transom for strength (the last guy had a 14x14" home plate shaped support on the outside and a 3x14 on the inside. I am doing two 14 x14s. I plan to put a bead of 5200 inside the edge of the pieces to seal them up (as well as around each bolt and washer. Do I just use regular washers on the inside and out, or do I need nylon ones? Actually, as I look at these pics I am posting, it looks like I will have to cut the inside piece short of the bottom two bolts due to the brace at the bottom. Feedback?

Edit: I know I need to clean up the boat before installing new piece.

boat 003.jpgboat 002.jpgboat 001.jpg
 

Captmills

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

yes, you need to stick with /ss washers and nuts, someone said not to keep count of the cost for stainless material. why the piece on the inside? have you checked the transom to make sure it isn't rotton, opps, seems the transom is gone. I don't know why you would need the inner piece. the outer gives a little extra strength and protection to the skin of the boat. use 5200 on all the through bolts
 

kfa4303

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Hello freud. Yeah, you need to use SS for all fittings (nuts, bolts, washers) through out the entire boat. It's pricey upfront, but will last forever, never rust and be super strong. Well worth the investment. The interior transom should span the entire width of the boat and go about 2/3 of the way down. You'll want to use non-PT, exterior grade plywood and seal it with a few coats of spar urethane. It's best to glue two layers of 3/4" ply using Titebond III, or similar product. After it dries, install it into the boat and attach it to the hull using the SS hardware. Apply the 3M 5200 to the bolts like mustard on a hotdog. It's pretty gooey, but will clean up with some acetone. You don't really need to put any wood on the outside, but you can if you like. Just apply a bead of 5200 around the edge to prevent water from getting behind it and see that it does not touch the water when at rest.
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Before you use 3m5200 on the 1/2" bolts for the motor............ do your water test first.

The motor might need to be moved up or down a hole and until you are POSITIVE that it is in the proper position........... you might want to hold off on the 5200.

With the 5200 being listed as a permanent adhesive - trust me they are not kidding :)
 

s freud

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

why the piece on the inside?
There was a piece on both sides previously and when he took it off the transom was bent a little. My thoughts are that putting two pieces back will straighten things out.

The interior transom should span the entire width of the boat ...It's best to glue two layers of 3/4" ply using Titebond III, or similar product. ... see that it does not touch the water when at rest.
Do I need to go the whole way across? I am more than doubling what he had (same width but more than twice depth). Is all the way across more than I need, or just best practices. Good point about making sure the wood is not touching the water, I will have to test that. Truth be told, I would rather not have the wood on the outside, but since the previous owner had it and it is bent out a little, I thought I needed it on both sides to straighten it out.

Before you use 3m5200 on the 1/2" bolts for the motor............ do your water test first. The motor might need to be moved up or down a hole and until you are POSITIVE that it is in the proper position......)

I am using 1/4" bolts, which is what was used before, is that not big enough for a 12' V hull with a 9.8 hp? I never thought about motor position, I guess I just assumed it was good from before, which may be a foolish assumption. How do I know if I need to move the motor up or down?
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Ooops my bad.

Go ahead and use the 5200. I was thinking it was a larger boat/motor combo such as a 50 HP or higher that are bolted to the transom.

LOL Yes, we are all without kidneys since the sale of a kidney "almost" covers the cost of the stainless steel bolts!! If it will make you feel better........... paint the heads of the bolts with gold paint and tell people they are gold. Hmmmmm maybe gold is cheaper :D
 

TTavenier3

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Im not sure that is is relevent to your bear sealer questions but every night i keep seeing that thompson wood sealer commercial."if its strong enough for the waterfall its strong enough to be thompsons" i wonder if that stuff would be good sealer for the transom. chances are that the transom will see water. wonder if anyone here has used it.
 

emoney

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

The drawback to Thompson's, or any "water sealer" is that it needs to be reapplied quite often. Spar Urethane, while it still needs attention, probably wears a little longer in between applications.
 

TTavenier3

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

Ooops my bad.

Go ahead and use the 5200. I was thinking it was a larger boat/motor combo such as a 50 HP or higher that are bolted to the transom.

LOL Yes, we are all without kidneys since the sale of a kidney "almost" covers the cost of the stainless steel bolts!! If it will make you feel better........... paint the heads of the bolts with gold paint and tell people they are gold. Hmmmmm maybe gold is cheaper :D

GOOOOOOOOOLLLLDDDD.. I LOVE GOOOOOOOOOLD. haha austin powers movies hahaha:eek:
My Bad:facepalm:
 

jigngrub

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

There was a piece on both sides previously and when he took it off the transom was bent a little. My thoughts are that putting two pieces back will straighten things out.

Do I need to go the whole way across? I am more than doubling what he had (same width but more than twice depth). Is all the way across more than I need, or just best practices. Good point about making sure the wood is not touching the water, I will have to test that. Truth be told, I would rather not have the wood on the outside, but since the previous owner had it and it is bent out a little, I thought I needed it on both sides to straighten it out.



I am using 1/4" bolts, which is what was used before, is that not big enough for a 12' V hull with a 9.8 hp? I never thought about motor position, I guess I just assumed it was good from before, which may be a foolish assumption. How do I know if I need to move the motor up or down?

Hey Siggy, I agree with kfa about spanning the full width of your transom with the inside wood, much stronger! Span the full width and go at least half the depth.

You can't go by what a previous owner had or has done because most POs don't know squat from Shinola about what they're doing (your bent transom is proof of this).

Beef up your transom, too much wood is a lot better than not enough. The beefier your transom is, the longer it and your boat will last with fewer transom related problems.
 

TTavenier3

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Re: Will these work to seal my wood transom?

just a fyi
WALMART SELLS THOMPSONS WATERPROOF SEALER. THERE CONTACT NUMBER I CALLED AND THEY SAID THEY GARENTEE THAT YOU CAN COMPLETLY SEAL A PIECE OF REGULAR WOOD AND TIE IT TO A BRICK SINK IT AND TEN YEARS LATER IT WILL STILL BE GOOD AS NEW. OK WELL THEY SAID SOMETHING I TOOK IT THAT WAY. THEY BASICALLY SAID IT IS A PERMINANT WATER PROOFING SEALANT THAT IS GARENTEED. THEY SAID THE USE IT ON THE DECKS AT NIAGRA FALLS AND HAVE NEVER HAD TO RESEAL IT YET. THEY DID SAY TO DRILL OUT ALL HOLES AND THEN SEAL THE WOOD. ALSO PUTTING SOME PUTTY OR 5200 ON THE BOLT HOLES WOULD BE ALSO A GREAT HELP IN A GARENTEED WATERPROOFING.
I LOOKED IT UP ONLINE AND YOUR CAN GET A 2.5GAL FOR $35 BUCKS. THATS ALOT OF SEALANT AND ALOT OF COATS YOU CAN DO. BUT IF YOUR JUST DOING THE TRANSOM
THEY SELL THE 1 GAL FOR 13 BUCKS at menards or lowes
SEEMS LIKE GOOD STUFF. IMO
 
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