help with my new 1442 jon boat

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ulcer8

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I recently got a 1442 jon boat that the previous owner used for bowfishing. It's got no hull ID so I guess it's older than 1972. It has unusally wide sides that are filled with foam. It's pretty heavy for a jon boat, but very stable in the water. I was told that someone in the past put too large of a motor on it and it cracked the transom on each side at the top. I was also told that it had been welded so I thought it was no biggie. It's got a 1964 Evinrude 18 hp motor on it and on my first ride on the lake the cracks reappeared. I'm wondering if I get it welded again if this will keep happening. The wood of the transom are two planks running across (which I don't really like) but they don't seem to be rotted. The bottom one is attached to two braces and the top one has the motor clamps on it. It seems to me by doing it that way, the braces don't help all that much. My other issue is that there are several areas on the bottom of the hull that have been patched with who knows what (it doesn't leak at all though). There also seems to be large areas of the hull that has a rough texture and in some places looks porous or spongey. I don't think it's corrosion from the pics I've seen of actual corrosion but I'd like to know what it is. Maybe some kind of epoxy liner that is severely aged? Thanks for any and all help.
 

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Interesting... I am not sure what to say. I always tell myself "what can be broken, can be fixed!".

The second picture almost looks like a fiberglass patch of some sort. Not really sure. The third picture that I am assuming you are calling the spongy type thing almost looks like it could be corrosion but its hard to say without removing the paint. It could be more fiberglass stuff(if that is what it is)?

With the cracks in the transom you may want to sand it all down to bare aluminum and take a look at it. May need to rebuild the transom or atleast have some aluminum re-inforcements welded in if it is indeed cracking.

Look through some of the builds on here and you will get a lot of ideas.
 
Looks like your transom is not getting proper support due to the wood being planks instead of a solid sheet as it looks to have been designed to have judging by the braces. I would suggest removing the wood, getting the cracks re-welded, and installing new wood. Exterior plywood sheeting works well, looks like yours needs to be about 1.5" thick, so glue 2 sheets of 3/4" together, and seal it up good. The braces will then give a lot better support than they are now.
 
Thanks for the replies! My internet was down a couple days, but it's nice to see some help. Yeah, now that you've mentioned it, it does kinda look like fiberglass patches.

As for the two plank wood transom, I was thinking of getting some metal brackets to join the two planks. Probably about five or so and see if that helps. It might come down to replacing the wood with one solid piece though.
 
I agree that the second picture resembles fiberglass cloth with some sort of resin over it. And the reason the transom is in the shape it's in now is because it wasn't fixed properly the last time someone replaced the wood. Don't waste your time trying to put a bandaide (brackets) on it. Fix it the right way as Ringo suggested and you'll be a lot better off. The cracks in the transom look like cracks in fiberglass resin instead of cracks in aluminum. I suspect they smeared some resin over the cracks trying to strengthen it instead of having it welded and that's why the cracks reappeared with just one run of the motor. Hate to think it about people but they may have done a cosmetic patch just to get it sold. Strip it down to bare aluminum so you can see what the problem is and then fix it right.
 
As others have said, Don't skimp on transom repairs.
I would tear it out and redo it. The last thing anybody wants is to be boating and lose a transom. It sounds like if you fix it right now the cracks at the top might be able to be tigged back and everything fine with a new plywood transom. Good luck to you.
 
Thanks guys. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I agree that replacing the transom is probably the best idea. I'll try get some pics posted as I make some progress.
 
I tore the old two plank transom wood out. Replaced it with two 3/4 in pieces of plywood sealed with spar varnish glued together. My bro-in-law welded the cracks up and reinforced the corners. Once the 5200 cures I'll be back on the water!
 

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