outboard and troller positions

Hey Guys, new to forum and owning a boat. Just picked up a 14' Jon boat and will have some questions on it and hopefully I can learn and get alot of info from this site.

My first question is... does the outboard have to be centered on the transom?

As you can see in some pics, the previous owner made a mount on the back for the trolling motor, but Im not a big fan of it. I was looking to mount the troller on the transom also but didnt want the motors to be too close to each other.

Second question... I have read alot about replacing the transom, and there is alot of different information out there but alot that seems to come up is from several years back. What I have learned is that I should use Outdoor, non-treated plywood, but not sure on coating. Has anyone used that flex seal spray as seen on tv to coat the plywood? Or some type of spray on bed liner? You just need to seal it so no water soaks up in it correct? Also read to use stainless steel bolts to remount transom board, yet people say that stainless and aluminum arent good together, so is stainless the best hardware to use?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, outboard needs to be center of transom.

Yes, use exterior grade non-treated plywood for your transom. You can seal it with a wide variety of sealers, from porch and deck paint to exterior grade spar urethane to bedliner. The best sealer is 2 part epoxy resin.

I have been thinking of building a trolling motor mount to move my motor over like the one in your picture. I am going to try to get it done in aluminum though but at first it may be wood. Only so much real estate on the transom though

Same thing for the board on the back exterior correct? So I'll need to cut 3 pieces of the plywood, 2 for interior and 1 for exterior and coat them with same stuff, whatever I decide to use?

Electric trolling motors are pretty small size, I think you should have enough space on that transom for one. I dont see the need for the boards you have on there. I agree with keeping the outboard centered too

how long is that boat and what is the width and height of the transom? that 40 looks aaaaawwwwfully big on there

Boat is a 14'er, and thats a 4.0 not a 40.

Just took apart the transom and took some pics in the process...




Now in the second pic, it shows that there is a lip about a third of the way down that is riveted to boat that made it so the board was held between 2 lips. Whats best way of going about this right now? Do I take that off fully and put 2 full pieces on there? Do I take rivets out, put a board in and reinstall that piece under board? Can I just take the rivets that were going thru the board out and kind of bend that lip down then back up under the board so the new board can go between both again?

PumaCG7 said:

Same thing for the board on the back exterior correct? So I'll need to cut 3 pieces of the plywood, 2 for interior and 1 for exterior and coat them with same stuff, whatever I decide to use?

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I didn't notice the "scab" on the outside of the transom, and I'm not sure you need it. I think it was put there to help reinforce the rotten transom, and it looks like it covering your bilge drain plug #-o and possibly your livewell intake.

If you decide to mount a new scab on the back it should be a pentagon shape and only cover 2/3s of your transoms height. You'll need to use the epoxy resin on the scab because it will be exposed to water whenever the boat is in the water. 4 coats of epoxy resin and 2 coats of paint to protect the epoxy from UV damage.

It also looks like that motor is just clamped to the transom with no thru bolts? I'd put 2 stainless steel bolts in the holes provided to keep that motor from "jumping" off the transom if you ever hit a rock or log, because they will jump off on impact with just clamps.

... and that motor does look big for that boat, what does your max. capacity sticker say?

For that bottom "lip" under the transom wood, I drilled out the rivets on mine, replaced the wood; the re-installation of the lip can be with done with closed end aluminum pop rivets (3/16 or 1/4"), solid rivets, or use stainless bolts with Nylock nuts. I used the stainless hardware on mine, since that is what was readily available at the time.

Yeah it was just clamped to the transom. So I should have it clamped to transom, then put some bolts thru it also? Through the back and all the way through the transom, so through bracket on motor then transom?

Theres no livewell in boat and the transom wood was just above the drain plug area.

The boat is a '88 sears gamefisher, the plaque says 7hp max

When you talk about the "scab" is that the wood piece on the back (outside) of the boat that the outboard is against? So I dont need to put another piece on the back to replace it?
The big transom board that was on the inside wasnt original but I believe the one that was behind it was original.



Thanks for everyones help! I cant wait to get this all done and out on the water

Bad news Bubba, your boat is grossly overpowered, and this could lead to a lot of bad things.

Your transom could fail while underway causing injury or death, not to mention the loss of your boat.

A lot of states have laws making it illegal to over power a boat and you could be fined, it's not very often that they check for this unless it is very obvious as in your case.

If you have an accident you will be liable if it's your fault or not.

You probably won't be able to buy insurance, and if you do find someone to insure it your insurance will be worthless if you have an accident because your boat is over powered.


Your transom is redneck engineered and a pee poor one at that, and even if you put it back like it was with all new wood you will have problems in the future with stress cracks and damage.

To be safe you should either buy another motor for that boat that doesn't exceed 7 hp, or buy another boat that will safely handle that motor.

It's your boat and you can do anything you want with it, I'm just letting you know what you're getting yourself into.

As stated previously, it says 4.0 on the motor not 40. If max is 7hp and mine is a 4hp how is that grossly overpowered? Not being mean but its within the limit correct? Like I said, this is my first boat so maybe theres a different way of reading the max hp and what percentage of that you should have thats safe??? Just trying to figure it all out and make sure my boat/setup is going to be reliable and good.

PumaCG7 said:

As stated previously, it says 4.0 on the motor not 40. If max is 7hp and mine is a 4hp how is that grossly overpowered? Not being mean but its within the limit correct? Like I said, this is my first boat so maybe theres a different way of reading the max hp and what percentage of that you should have thats safe??? Just trying to figure it all out and make sure my boat/setup is going to be reliable and good.

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A 4hp motor will be fine. That motor looks huuuge for a 4.0hp motor though, not sure whats going on there but it looks way beefier then my 9.9 did... might just be because its a long shaft though. It should weigh in the realm of 40ish lbs. If its much more, then you may have a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I have the exact same boat but mine is an 1987 model. The 4.0 is fine, I have a 7.5 and it gets me to and from without any problems. I also installed a small deck and mounted a my TM on the bow. This way it feels more balanced out...motor and tank in back, TM and battery up front.

As far as rebuilding the transom, search on this site and plenty of guys have done it with pictures to help you see progress. Good luck and enjoy your boat.

Rick

PumaCG7 said:

As stated previously, it says 4.0 on the motor not 40. If max is 7hp and mine is a 4hp how is that grossly overpowered? Not being mean but its within the limit correct? Like I said, this is my first boat so maybe theres a different way of reading the max hp and what percentage of that you should have thats safe??? Just trying to figure it all out and make sure my boat/setup is going to be reliable and good.

Click to expand...

Ok, that's biggest 4 hp motor I've ever seen... but iy might just be camera angle and stuff.

You don't need the full length and width piece of plywood on the inside, and removing the "Z" channel, installing the wood and replacing the "Z" channel will be your best bet. If you have a rivet setting tool, aluminum closed end blind rivets will be your best bet for reinstalling the "Z" channel. But if you don't have a rivet tool the stainless nuts and bolts will work just as well, they're just more expensive.

Use stainless nuts (nyloc) and bolts to fasten your new scab on and to bolt your motor to the transom too.

Be sure to seal all of your wood with multiple coats of sealer.

Sorry about the mix up on the motor, it just looks BIG!

My main motor is slightly offset to make the room i wanted for the trolling motor. Very little though maybe 2-3 inches. It has bee that way for years and works great.

Its probably better to center though if it works for you, just letting you know slightly offset has worked for me

Thanks for info guys. Im going to try and start making my transom boards today. I have the boards but have to pick up the coating (Still havent decided what Im using yet) and have to remove Z channel.

Should only have one last transom question, ok maybe a couple more...

So do I just need to replace the board thats between those two channels? or should I have another board the same size over it too?

And the one for the exterior, I should make it pentagon shaped (point facing down?) and only about 2/3rds of the way down the back?


all in all... Cut and coat a board thats about 6"x42" for Z channel piece, then make one that will cover that board and the 2 Z channels (so about 8"x42"), and cut and coat one thats pentagon shaped for the exterior transom piece. Bolt them all together with stainless bolts and nylock nuts, using a caulk or sealant in the holes that are drilled thru the wood and the boat, but drill holes first then epoxy the plywood.

How thick do the other 2 boards need to be? will 5/8" work for each?
Can I put 2 pieces in Zchannels if they are 1/2" thick pieces? Or should it be 1 solid piece

If your uncertain bout the motor, post the model number and it can be confirmed on the size, it looks big and has a lg diam prop for a 4.

You can make all of your pieces 1" thick by laminating 2 pieces of 1/2" exterior grade plywood together. Glue and screw them together, use 3/4" SS screws and a waterproof adhesive... I like the contact cement that comes in a can. Use 2 coats (the first coat will be absorbed by the wood) on each surface and follow the directions. Seal all of the pieces after laminating (you want to bond raw wood with the adhesive, not sealer) and pay special attention to the edges.

You can put the extra piece of 8X42" wood in there if you want, it won't hurt a thing. Screw it to the 6X42" piece with 1 1/2" SS screws.

The outboard is Johnson model# J4RDHCDE I looked it up on google and it says its a 1986 4hp motor