First post, first boat project....

[Trout Hunter]

Ok, old transom is out.... not only was it rotted and punky, but it was broked in one spot right where the motor sat. No wonder it was flexing so bad. :shock:
What I came up with was laminated plywood loke many others have done. I am, however, 1/4 inch thinner than the old transom. I now think that I should get a 1/4 inch sheet of plywood and glue that on as well to fill the gap. Do you all think I should do that or just bolt er up and let it go??
Stainless IS expensive..... spent probably $60 on fasteners today. (some of it is for the trailer though.) Ii plan to use the old holes and not drill any new ones in the transom except two where I"ll be bolting the motor on.

 

[Zum]

I'd keep it atleast as thick as it was before.If you still have some of the plywood you already used,make it thicker.Just make sure it's not so thick that your outboard won't fit on it and if your planing on using the aluminum strip again it probably won't fit either.

 

[brewfish]

I know it's a bummer dropping that kind of cash for nuts and bolts but I promise you'll never regret going all stainless. You'll thank yourself once you start hitting the saltwater and everything stays just as nice looking as the day when you first put it on. 8)

 

[Trout Hunter]

I do infact have enough plywood to add another layer. It will be abit thicker than before though and I worry about it throwing everything off..... I'll cut it out and dry fit it to see how it fits before I glue it on. There is plenty of room for the motor mount so thats not an issue. Any ideas on where I can find some thin aluminum to fabricate a new top piece since the old one won't fit?? ANy other ideas for a top piece instead of aluminum?

 

[Trout Hunter]

No worries! I found a scrap piece of 1/4 plywood at work tonight. Woohoo! Now I just have to cut it out and glue to the other two. I'll try and post pictures later today of what I have so far.

 

[Trout Hunter]

Pictures of the old transom wood. You can't see the break or just how much it was squished and punky where the motor goes but trust me... twas bad!

I've started on the new piece. Laminated 2 5/8 pieces and one 1/4 piece together. The edges areen't perfect cause I can't cut straight but it'll all get covered back up so you'll never see it. Coat number two of urethane is drying as I type this. I also cut a piece of 5/8 ply to go in between the brackets to which I will bolt the motor through the transom. This, I hope, will have a two fold effect. One, it will keep the motor where it belongs.... on the boat. and Two, it should make for a more solid connection thereby minimizing any vibration that could occur.

I am already scheming about storage and decking..... Might work on it piece meal through out the rest of the season but will most likely wait until November to finish her up. Going to start collecting the parts next week.

Thanks to all of you for guiding me through this first project. I'll try and post pictures of the finished transom next week.

 

[Waterwings]

I am already scheming about storage and decking..... Might work on it piece meal through out the rest of the season but will most likely wait until November to finish her up. Going to start collecting the parts next week.

Sounds like you've got a plan!

 

[Trout Hunter]

got the transom replaced today. Things went pretty well considering my lack of carpentry skills and the fact that its my first ever attempt at something like this. I found out that I need a few more screws but I used what I had laying around for the time being. I will pick some more up this week and swap them out. DIdin't have a hard time at all bolting the motor to the transom. Used the biggest bolts that would fit through the holes in the mounting bracket with just a bit of slop. doesn't really seem like over kill. Cut some rubber patches from the old boot I found and put them under the large washers I used to clamp the motor. (can't find anyone that has true replacement parts.... but this will work fine). Found a way to get those god awful clamp on seat brackets to stay put.... I think. We'll see how it works out tomorrow. I put some lifting weights up front to help keep the nose down but I think I'll be able to properly trim the motor now so I might not need it. Any body got preferences on anchors?? How much is too much? I plan to use this 90% in lakes and won't put it in a river or the bay until I have several successful outings. I decked it out with some battery powered clamp on lights and will put another temporary seat in it tomorrow.... Having way more fun than I thought I would. Thanks to everyone for having a place like this for us to all share and learn.
Anyway, here are the pics so far.

 

[Waterwings]

Nice work! 8)

 

[dedawg1149]

looking good :lol:

 

[Zum]

Nice job on the transom repair.
Sorry can't help with the anchor weight or style(I never do it)but there are some good posts on this here somewhere.

 

[Waterwings]

...Any body got preferences on anchors?? How much is too much? I plan to use this 90% in lakes and won't put it in a river or the bay until I have several successful outings...

I use a 12# mushroom anchor with 3/8" diameter polypro line connected to it. It does fine for holding my 16' rig in-place, unless the wind really picks-up, and then I'm usually headed to the ramp by then. The places I fish have mostly a muddy bottom, so I'll let out quite a bit of line so that the anchor will "take a bite" into the mud. If you try to anchor straight-down it's not gonna work real well. There's a rule of thumb for anchoring and the amount of line to pay-out, but I don't recall it.

There is a type call eda river anchor, similar to a mushroom type, only it has 3 flukes for digging-in better. My thoughts on those are that if you get it hung-up under some fallen branches, etc, it's gonna be a pain to get it loose.

Here are a couple of links to show the anchors:
Mushroom anchor (vinyl coated): https://www.premiumpowersports.com/Vinyl-Coated-Mushroom-Anchor-p-126.html
River anchor(vinyl coated): https://www.premiumpowersports.com/Vinyl-Coated-River-Anchor-p-128.html

Walmart usually carries both types.

 

[SlimeTime]

I've always prefered river anchors....though for no particular reason. As WW said, a couple 12 pounders should do fine for you. Also, I always place about 24" of chain on the anchor with a clevis, and tie to the chain.....that's where the majority of abrasion will occur.

ST

 

[dedawg1149]

we use to home make them with gallon coffee cans fill them up with concrete with a piece of bent rebar looped over let it harden remove can held johnboat good

 

[Trout Hunter]

gonna try one of the river anchors....

I've done the coffee can thing before but they drag on the harder bottoms. a good additional or backup though for when I want to anchor without swinging. I'll make one up and stach it somewhere in the front of the boat.

https://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/...&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=anchor&noImage=0