Transom Material

Hi all,
I purchased my first boat this past summer. I plan on having a project thread eventually, but wanted to get an important question answered first. I'm replacing the transom and was wondering if red oak was acceptable. The original plywood transom had 35+ years of weather. I likely could have gotten another 5-10 years out of it, but I'd prefer to be safe rather than sorry. Is Red Oak acceptable?

In the absence of replies I went googling... and found a related post in the old topics.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8340

My guess is the Oak is fine as long as I seal it (as I planned). Any objections?

HI Vermonster. While you could use oak, I think you'll find that it's much too heavy for your purposes. Oak is generally used to make trim and/or pieces that need to be steamed and bent. In fact, red oak and can be steamed and tied into a know, if done correctly. However, generally speaking, most tin boat guys tend to go with high quality, NON PRESSURE TREATED, exterior grade plywood such as Aurauco brand available at most Lowes/HD. You could use marine grade, if you can find it and don't mid the expense. The only thing that makes it "marine" grade is that it is void free and uses high quality glue between the plys. MDO ( not MDF) is also a good material and is used to make professional exterior signs.
After laminating the appropriate number of pieces of plywood together to get the desired thickness, you'll then need to seal/waterproof it. There are a couple methods most folks use. The first is to use a high quality, wax-free polyester resin and fiberglass mat to fully encapsulate the plywood. The other is to use 2-parts, spreadable epoxy to seal the wood. It is a bit more pricey, but it tends to be less work, lower fumes and you can use any leftover epoxy for all kinds of cool stuff. You will need to paint it after it dries to give it UV protection. Once treated, using either of these methods, the wood should outlast you. If you don't have the time, money, or inclination to do either method above you can also use several coats of Spar Urethane and/or several coats of high quality, exterior grade paint like porch paint, or Rustoleum Professional Oil based enamel, also available at Lowes/HD. These methods will by no means waterproof the wood like f'glass and epoxy, but you should still be able to get several good seasons worth of use out of them. Be sure you attach them to the hull using either aluminum replacement rivets and/or stainless steel hardware dipped in 3M 5200 marine caulk. You can get everything you need at Lowes/HD including angle and stock aluminum, except for the f'glass and epoxy supplies. However, you should be able to get epoxy from any West Marine boating store. That's really about it. The rest is up to your budget and imagination. Good luck. Holler if you get stuck.

Thanks kfa4303!

I've read about the 3M5200 a bunch and it says it's not for "removable parts" would the 3M4200 be better to seal up the bolts for the transom? I haven't used either, but I thought I would ask before I dive in and make a mistake. I don't plan on removing the transom anytime soon after I have it installed either, but I would prefer to have it done right.

3M 5200 is best for most applications, especially any through-hull applications such as the stainless steel bolts you'll use to attach the transom to the hull. It's essentially marine caulk that goes on gloopy, but dries strong and flexible. It also has strong adhesive properties, but it can be removed, albeit with effort. However, you don't really want/need to be able to remove the transom on a regular basis. Once you install it, no one in your lifetime should ever need to touch it again. If you use the f'glass, or epoxy methods the wood will literally outlive you. As such, you don't want or need any of the transom hardware to be readily removable. Regular 5200 takes about 24 hrs to cure, but they do make a faster drying version, I believe. Also, have some acetone handy to clean up with. Like I said, it's pretty gloopy stuff. You should be able to get it at Lowes/HD in sizes ranging from toothpaste tube size to caulk gun sized. The toothpaste tube size should be plenty.

Don't be shocked if your 5200 does not cure in 24 hours...mine takes 2 weeks to get hard. It will be tacky for some time.

Thanks JD!
I've got time to let it cure. I had actually already picked up a tube. I've got to cut off some rusted out screws where it looks like the previous owner may have had a fish finder. I was then going to either punch them out (if they come out) or drill them and rivet/seal them up. Trying to get all useless items off boat before it get's sanded/primed/painted. I read that JB Weld can crack and since it's below the water line... I don't feel like reading up on bilge pumps - I would rather just stay dry.

yeah, JB weld isn't the best below the waterline. Although, they do make a marine epoxy stick/putty that works well, and is handy to have in your onboard emergency/tool box. There are other brands too. If you can't get rivets for some reason, SS bolts with a nyloc washer, dipped in 5200 will work also. However, if you should need a bilge pump here's one you can make for a couple bucks out of PVC, a piece of bamboo, a round piece of plastic to act as a "piston" and a couple pieces of rubber hose to act as flaps. It works pretty good, pumps lots of water and is collapsible so it doesn't take up much space when not in use. I stole it from a vid I saw on youtbue. Best of all it's DIY and cheap

I have been wondering the specifics of that - can you post the vid link somewhere?

That's a handy item thanks again kfa4303! The boat is actually pretty dry. I've got one rivet on the floor that appears wet after about 6 hours on the water. Now the first time I got to take the boat to the big lake was memorial day and of course the idiots were out and I almost got swamped when a wake came up, but thankfully not over the transom. I'll likely stick to the smaller lakes during the weekend and hit the larger ones during mid week if I can get time off.

My handicap would be the Mrs. She's in occupational safety, but not official OSHA, so she responds poorly when I talk about fiberglass, epoxy, or resin. I was going to go down the plywood and f/glass route. The oak and several coats of spar will likely be what I'm stuck with. The transom I took out is surprisingly heavy, and I think it might actually outweigh the oak. It's 44"x8" overall. She's looking out for me which I can't really complain about. I even humored her with a lead paint test before I started sanding it down.

I appreciate the feedback and hope to have a thread in the project section that will likely be broken down into a 2 year project. I hope to get a new transom and coat of paint on both the trailer and boat before this season. Next season will be an interior make-over.

Jdholmes said:

I have been wondering the specifics of that - can you post the vid link somewhere?

Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We67tXTMgU4

Pretty Cool and cheap!

Here's some pics of the boat sans motor sitting in the carport. The short project is paint, the long project is interior.





The boat is just under 14'

The only issue I have with it is that the front seat at the bow is flimsy and small which means that anybody that goes fishing with me has to sit on the middle bench which kind of crowds me because I usually have at least 3 poles going so I don't have to switch lures up. Not a deal breaker, and I also like to fish solo because not everybody will stay out on the water for 6 hours without a bite (I will).

I'm thinking of:

1. Taking the middle seat out and adding a low carpeted deck (seat level) in the front that can have a short pedestal seat for fishing that can be removed while motoring and the passenger can sit on the bench.

2. Adding a carpeted floor as low as possible in the center (for the kiddo).

3. Decking the back (again at seat level) for a pedestal seat while fishing and then sitting on the bench when motoring.

First priority is getting paint on this year and getting back on the water.