New to me lowe 1620 transom issues

I bought a lowe 1620 with no motor for a good deal i think . It came with no motor but with a trailer for 400 .

Being an amateur boatwright inspected the transom througly and bidded him down on it condition . Looks like they did replace the wood but sounds like they didn't expoxy the wood to the metal . It has a little bit of flex but i think its due to either the top of the rail has a half inch gap in it or they didnt epoxy the wood .

Any help on understanding exceptable construction would be appreciated.

Also this transom needs to be strong since im repowering it with the claimed max hp of 60

Here is a shot

Welcome to the Forum, Clark !!

realistically, you won't know anything until you remove
the transom wood and conduct your inspection from there.

a 60 hp will require a substantially strong and properly fitting transom !!!!!




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Is the transom suspose to be secured to the transom metal with bolts or glue ? Or combination of both ?

I bought a very pricey 2005 60 hp merc so i dont want it falling off or it fracturing the metal for a costly repair .

The past 4 transoms that I did were two sheets of exterior grade plywood
laminated together, properly sealed, and a 1/8" aluminum plate bonded to that.
another method would be to laminate 3 layers of 1/2" plywood together.
when multiple layers are glued together, it becomes much stronger than just two.
plus, easier to work with. laminate the 3 pieces together, stack heavy objects on it overnight
and THEN - cut the shape you need with your handtools. ensure it is on a FLAT surface.
the wood must fit the full transom surface of which it was intended by the manufacturer (or better).
The only caulk I used was around the bolts/screws that hold it in place. (stainless carriage bolts).
I did not epoxy, glue or laminate the wood to the boat hull. (judgement call on my part).
then the motor is through bolted to the transom.

IMHO - there should not be any gap at the top of the transom and the top plate cover.
the transom wood should fit snug on each end. (left to right).
since you have reservations about the wood not being correct, remove it and
make a cardboard template for the replacement wood. Seal accordingly.


please come back with some photos after you get the corner braces and top cap off.






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My first aluminum boat , there is a splash basin in bewteen the transom and bilge/battery/gas tank area door . I hope its just pop riveted in im think the 2 bottom motor mounts have to be accessed through that area .

I will report back with some pictures .

jclark785 said:

I hope its just pop riveted in im think the 2 bottom motor mounts have to be accessed through that area.

Click to expand...

I'd bet $$$ the OEM hull maker used solid rivets. See my signature line for Rebuild #3 for putting in new wood & securing w/ SS bolts, or Rebuild #5 for both transom replacement and removal of a splashwell area, including re-riveting the hull back together with solid rivets and air tools. Note on #5 that the stern is also reinforced with strategically placed SS bolts.

I'm not saying my posts are the de facto standard or the ONLY way to effect a transom repair, but between what I had faced, along with my pictures and info ... and it just might give you a good idea of how to proceed with your hull.

Ask away if any questions! And as Johnny quite rightly said - this is one area where pictures are of tremendous value ...

I really want to avoid taking that splashgaurd out .

So i assume i have to locate the rivets .
Grind the heads off them , push them out ? Replace with ss bolts ?

I got drain bungs in the splashgaurd as well i have to assume they are prolly tied in to the transom . Grind the lips off the and wack em out .

Any othere ribets that need to be replaced ?

Anyone want to rent out that bung tube flangeing tool ?


So i assume take the corner casts off . Remove the top plate . Get rid of the rivets holding the bracket to the transom to the frame/stringers . Remove any othere screws that will hold on to the transom . Grind the drain bungs flush and knock em out . Get a set of the theaded hooks pull the transom out from the top .

Replecate the trasom with exterior or marine grade plywood . waterproof it . TEst fit it . be happy with it . Drill throught it for the transom support . Throw some ss lag bolts at with silicone or sealent . Drill holes for drain bungs , either buy the tool to do bungs or purchase and expensive through hull fittings . Then replace the top rail and corner casts . THen hope all is well in the universe.

yep - that just about sums up your project - LOL - if it were only that simple.

once you start taking things apart, you will see what has to be done in the next step.
don't get frustrated - work around the obstacles.
remove things with care - investigate - remove some more things - investigate further.
one step at a time.
it is very easy (and common) to turn a 5 hour project into a two week project !!!!

you mentioned: "Anyone want to rent out that bung tube flangeing tool" ?

which bungs are you having problems with ??

more photos of your project once you get started will help the gallery help you.

Well looking at it in the light othere than the bung fittings i think if i have a quick and easy way to water proof the new would this might take 4 hours .

Im concerned that this was done before or they tryed tighting it by sinking more screws in the metal to wood .

SUSPOSEDLY the guys story was his buddy and him were going to purchase a new outboard for this boat but at the cabelas dealer ship he got talked in to a new boat .....

There is so many miss matching screws its like he just picked whatever was on the garage floor or in the what i like to call extra jar . Perfectly fine for hanging a picture on a wall but good night not this boat .....

Im a thinking lowe boats didnt use 3/8 machine screws to hold the transom support bracket on ? Lmao im glad im a stranger .

Next question im out here at my mothers farm / my toy box and i thought i had a tape measure in the car .

The tag on the boat leaves me to believe this thing had a evinrude on it before ...... im useing a 2005 60 hp 2 stroke non big foot ......

Think ill have a issues finding correlating holes ?

*** long as no one pays attention to the transom rail or notices the dated gauges . I think ill have a great catfishing boat .

Haven't seen many videos on this subject for aluminum boats that arnt barebones john boats or fiberglass ticking time bombs ......

So i think i might do a brief video .

A buddy from work has poly board he was trying to sell me for my fiberglass boat project . Im tempted but his prices are outrageous for what it is . And im unsure if i can get the thickness right being limited to .5 inch selection .

My local menards has ab marine grade ply wood for double the cost of regular ply . Im think since i have some chopped strand mat 1.5 oz or 1708 . If i buy a gallon of the bondo wax version of fiberglass resin .

Either wood , should last 20 years if its water proofed with fiberglass by that time everyone should have lost intrest in the boat ....

Lemme know your favorite way to water proof the wood .

Think I"ll have issues finding correlating holes ? LOL - ABSOLUTELY !!
It is an unwritten rule that when swapping out motors, the holes will always be mis-matched !!!
Therefore, someone came up with a 1/2" correlating drill bit to correlate the new holes.
good luck in your project !!

jclark785 said:

So i assume i have to locate the rivets .
Grind the heads off them , push them out ? Replace with ss bolts ?

Click to expand...

Since I had well over 300 rivets to remove and replace I think I can comment on this.

I took a fine point Sharpie marker and placed a dot on the center of each rivet head. Then I took a SHARP 90-degree center punch and punched on that dot. Then drilled them out using a new cobalt ($3-4) drill sized to the rivets you have.

Mine were 3/16" rivets. You can also use a #drill a tad under-sized to the 3/16" (0.1875) rivets, using a #14 (0.182") or #13 (0.185") but I found the new cobalt drill worked well to drill the head off. I also tried NOT to drill through the panels now, or if had to ... (can't control it) try not to go through the 2nd panel.

Here you will need a drift punch to sometime coerce the rivet body to drop off. I did find if you have to punch too much you end up making the hole out of round, so carefully just go through with whatever drill you're using. Some are stubborn - just know that - while some just drop off the backsides as the head spins off.

I replaced my rivets with solid rivets and the hull came out awesome. More info on the tooling used in my posts. But yes you could use SS bolts, but you should insulate the SS from the aluminum by nylon washers under the head of the bolt and under any SS washer or nut, and if a saltwater boat I'd further cover the shank with adhesive-lined heatshrink.

I do believe if you get setup to do rivets you'd be well served! I have plenty of rivets on hand and can sell you small quantities on the cheap. If you can get easy access to both sides of the panel, you can use hand tools for that piece.

https://youtu.be/BsEhf2XRlmE

well i got it torn down , and most of the transom/soggy wood chips out , i didnt take the bracket bolts out . i didnt want it to get really floppy on me just yet .

there are 3/16 flat head machine screws and i don't think they are coming out they just keep spinning .

im wondering if i can get away with building/cutting the transom just wide enough to go against the edge to edge with these bolts .

if not it might be pour-able transom time , im headed to the big box builder stores to see what material i can work with ......

i will have prolly 400 ish in a pourable transom material . maybe more if they consider it hazmat item .


oh and its going smooth but however the aluminum for the gunnel top hangs over the transom area about a inch im wondering if i can heat that up and bend them up if i go the wood route i got to be careful under the corner casts is the s/n plate .

lemme know what you guys think .

jclark785 said:

oh and its going smooth but however the aluminum for the gunnel top hangs over the transom area about a inch im wondering if i can heat that up and bend them up ...

Click to expand...

If 5052 alloy, get a TempLstik, believe of 650 degrees, which is the temperature for annealing aluminum of that alloy.

See: https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=38054&hilit=anneal for more 'hammer forming' details.

I layed the top rail over the sheet metal and pressing the metal out against the rim of the top rail I got one and three quarter inch thickness required. I'm considering getting marine-grade plywood from Menards it's truly half inch thick and I'm considering using PL Construction adhesive to laminate the pieces together using a trowel hoping to get an eighth inch thickness in each lamination and finishing the seal with oil-based paint or Flex Seal.

Approve ?

- oh no -

in my world, I would try to find something to fill the gap with......
PVC sheet, plexiglass, 1/4" of something that is weather resistant
to sandwich in the middle. even 1/4"x2" plastic lattice strips may be a consideration.
if the plywood you are buying is truly marine grade, look in your area
for a cabinet shop or millwork shop to plane down one precut board to 1/4".
- or - if you have a table saw, make a bunch of strips to fill in the gap.
If you have a sign shop near you, stop in and ask if you can buy one of their 1/4" thick PVC signs.

filling a gap that large with anything flexible is asking for trouble (in my opinion).

also, any kind of "spray tar" is a bad idea - especially that Flex Seal stuff on TV. (IMHO).
most exterior oil based primers and paints will serve you well.
avoid the household "primer and paint" in the same can. (I just don't trust it).

again, strictly my own opinions.


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