Transom Questions

Ok after removing the jack plate and various pieces of aluminum plates on the transom I'm going to need some serious welding repairs.
My questions:
Should I cut just a section out or replace the whole back end?
Is it necessary to have wood in the transom?
I plan on having a jack plate so the motor will not be attached directly to the transom. I have seen several jack plates where the motor is attached to it without any wood.

If I replace the whole back what size thickness material should I use?


This is what I'm thinking. After repairing the corroded spot ( whole or spot)weld in a 1 1/2" x 3" bar across the top of the transom and any supports that may be needed. I plan on using a piece of channel 6" x 3" to make the jack plate which should add strength.

Wow!
I would say your going to have to cover a large area of the transom with another piece of aluminum. You might be able to use a lot of 3M's 5200 and blind rivet it on, I would have it tig welded.

It's hard to tell what shape your transom is in with the pics provided. It looks like you've removed the inboard portion of your transom that would reveal the core, be it wood or metel or whatever but we can't see it. Torx if French for twist. A jack plate is going to transfer the motor twist right back to the transom and the transom needs to be just as strong as it would if the motor were hanging right off it. Do a forever repair on the transom and move forward from there. Looking back at your post. Yes, you will need something in your transom core. Wood, metel, fiberglass. I saw an aluminum product that had coregated center that looked really strong.

I have not disassembled the transom yet. The big plate in the picture was added by the previous owner,to add strength to the inside. There is a few pieces that are not in the pictures that were on the outside the cover the holes you see in the picture. All the wood inside is rotten. I guess a simpler way to ask my question is, Can I replace the wood with aluminum?

I'll see if I can find that piece of corrugated aluminum you mentioned it sounds interesting.

Thanks Ricky

All I could come up with was "cladding wall panel aluminum corrugated panel" on google. Darn if I could find any for sale to the street. Also found it "Alu-corr"

What is the preferred type of aluminum? 5052 or 6061
What is the normal gauge of most boats?

Here's a drawing of what I think will work. This will be on the inside and the jack plate bolted the the bars from the outside.

I had a similar question to this but this thread has answered it for me, many thanks.

If all goes well this weekend I'll have steelfex on it and I can start building the transom and jackplate.