Transom Questions???

I am the newbie with the 14 ft crestliner. An oldie but a goody I think.

A few questions. And I can not get pics to load I tried twice today and no joy. hmmm. ANyways, here goes.

1. I am going to replace the transom, treated ply or non treated. I want to use oak ply.
2. I read that treated wood jacks up a boat hull.
3. If I use nicer ply will it last any longer to justify the cost?
4. Can I fiber glass resin the edges, so they wont start to separate as quickly?? Wil that even work on wood?
5. I can not get stainless hardware at home depot, I wonder if lowes carries them or even ace hardware.
5. If my boat does not leak at all I have been told that steel flex maybe is not the way to go, so I think I may just primer and paint and see how it goes, but I probly need to seal the seams at least to make my self feel better.
LAST ONE
6. can you buy 3m 5200 in bigger containers than the small tubes at home depot? Thank you guys so much in advance for all your advice.

Chris

The 5200 comes in a standard size caulking tube. Think I paid $23 at the local boat dealer.

You can also pick the 3M 5200 up in a 5 gal. pail, though I'm willing to bet that is a bit too much. :mrgreen:

Yes, treated lumber will corrode your aluminum. I got a lot of my stainless hardware at a local "old time" style hardware store. They don't have washers and dryers but they have almost any hardware item you would need. Does your area have a store like that?

I sealed my transom with Thompson's water seal. I imagine you could fiberglass the whole thing if you wanted to. But keep in mind that that will add thickness to your transom. Think about if it will fit back into the slot with the extra thickness.

1. non treated
2. true
3. maybe, maybe not. The ONLY reason you would use a more expensive ply is that it will not rot as fast.
4. You can coat the edges with resin, however they will not help hold it together. The resin itself does not have any strength. You would have to apply fibergalss mat to the edges and then coat with resin. That would make it water proof on the edges and would help to keep it from coming apart. You could use the cheaper wood and then cover it all in fiberglass and that would seal it and make it last much longer. (as long as you really got it sealed and you cover every hole you drill in it with silicone and the same with every screw)
5. Don't know
5. (you had two) Steel flex will seal the bottom and the seams, so it would probably help in the long run.
6. Yes they do come in a standard caulk tube.

If you don't have leaks don't Steelflex it. I did it to mine because of leaks but it's really hard to make it look good. It has a pebble texture. Doesn't look like nice paint job.

You should be able to get stainless hardware at most Hardware Stores. Home Depot does carry some in my area but the HW stores have a larger variety and have been cheeper in my experience.

Don't user treated. Use standard play and seal it or fiberglass it.

Good luck and don't forget to post pics!!!!!

yeah My cam is over at my moms, and she has H1N1 so I am not going over therre and get it, but I have not done alot to the boat yet. I have stripped the paint and started stripping the old hard carpet glue on the inside. That is about it.

I replaced the eye bolt on the front of the boat and done some work on the motot, nothing major and nothing worth pics, lol.

I am so excited, but a bit strapped for cash. So it might be an all winter project.

I am going with Marine ply, I was told it would hold up along time so we will see. thanks for all the insight and advice.

Thanks

Chris

Okielawman28 said:

I am going with Marine ply, I was told it would hold up along time so we will see. thanks for all the insight and advice.

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I have used marine ply in the past. I have used regular ply in the past. I won't bother with marine ply again, unless I am building a plywood hull. The extended life will not be much different, especially in a transom situation. Certainly not enough to justify the cost. The only reason I would use it on a boat hull is because marine ply has absolutely no voids. All inner knots on it are filled with footballs, whereas they are left open on regular ply. On a boat hull, this is important, as the pressure of water on a moving hull could start to push the outer plies into these voids. That isn't an issue on a transom.

Personally, I would use standard ply, and spar varnish. This is what I have been doing for quite awhile now, with excellent success, and I average 6 - 8 transom rebuilds a year, on various aluminum boats.

I concur I will not use marine ply for any transom that I build. (actually I won't use ply at all anymore, except for an aluminum boat) I pour all fiberglass hull boats with a solid fiberglass transom.

Marine ply is expensive and will rot just as fast as regular ply. Save your money and buy the regular ply. If you really want something that will last a long time, then cover it with fiberglass and resin. That will make it last much longer than just ply wood alone.