Transom replacement / repair

[mdl63]

I am in need of some advise. My Lund Prosport has a soft transom. Is it very difficult to replace or fix vourself? Or is it something that should be left to the experts? If so any estimates on the cost and who would you recomend. If rcommending someone I am in the Marshall, MN area.

Thanks

[Rebel9921]

No harm in getting it done yourself but you would need few things to get the job done such as a cherrypicker (Motor jack), Marine Plywood, etc etc...

Otherwise, the only professional that I know of, he comes highly recommended and is a regular contributor to this forum: Steve Bakken... if I can remember, his boat shop isnt too far from Marshall...

If you want to know how hard it could be, refer to my earlier posting with plenty of pictures showing the complete renovation process of my boat...

Good luck!

[broken_line]

we just went to tru value and bought exterior grade plywood and coated it with 3 heavy coats of deck sealent..

[shizzy]

some pics would be nice. some boats are going to take more work then others.

[Rebel9921]

we just went to tru value and bought exterior grade plywood and coated it with 3 heavy coats of deck sealent..

Just not sure what you mean by exterior grade plywood??? If it is green-treated, I would definitely redo it with marine plywood... something about the chemicals inside green-treated having a type of a reaction when its touching aluminum... and this reaction isnt good, as it would eat away at the aluminum...

The difference between any type of plywood vs marine plywood is the glue used to laminate it... marine plywood all are laminated using marine-grade (water resistant) glues while others arent... so regardless pricing and availability... I definitely would stick with marine plywood for many good reasons...

Hope this helps...

[delmuts]

Go to page 63. there the guys talked about what plywood to use. Also ; Steve baken is a great source of information for this.

As far as doing it yourself. We did it to a alum. last year. Not hard (especially when you have a nice shop to work in!) but is a dirty job( and a pain!) getting the old wood out. It took three of us an afternoon to get it done.

[broken_line]

the only reason green treated plywood corrodes aluminum is because it has coppper in it hence the green color.. exterior grade is a lower grade of marine plywood with more knots.. but for $20 a reject sheet compared to $100 i would more than gladly replace it every 5 or 6 years than buy 2 different sizes of marine.. if the transom is soft it should be easy to take off.

[Rebel9921]

$100 bucks? Dunno where you been looking... but as far as I know I got mine for $54 for 1/2 8x4 and $59 for 3/4 8x4 at a home improvement store where you SAVE BIG!!!

[Valv]

Call Lund and ask them if they have any fiberglass transom leftovers.

I know Crestliner (same ownership of Lund) used fiberglass transom material to replace the wood on many boats. This was an excellent idea, they were 2 thin layers of fiberglass with a hard waterproof foam in the middle.

Here's a picture of what I had :

[Surface Tension]

Just helped a guy replace the transom on a Lund.

Its not that big of a job but you'll have pay attention to detail. You'll be removing a lot of fasteners while taking off the cap, corners, splashwell/battery boxes. There is going to be rivets and bolts going though the transom as well. Forget one and the old transom will hang up on it and the new transom won't fit. When it comes time to lift the old transom out be careful not to bend, warp of strength the aluminum. I would have made the new transom but the owner of the boat insisted on buying one from the factory. That'll run around $100 plus shipping. Put a sealer on it if you want but the water shouldn't get there in the first place.

Bakken's Boat Shop can do this for you. Don't know what they charge but if your time is money you'll have saved by having them do the job.

[mdl63]

Well, it's off to Bakken's today and have them fix it. Right now I am working 2 jobs and I do not have the time to do it myself.

[Northlander]

Good choice. It will save you time and money in the long run. You will have your boat back way sooner than if you did it yourself.

[mdl63]

Well, I finally got the boat back yesterday. I looked it over today and I was very impressed. Richard and Steve did a very good job. Better than expected and better than I could have ever done!!! It was not cheap, but very well worth the money spent to keep the boat on the water. Now to get the motor and dthe Humminbird back on it.

Alan

[marine_man]

Glad to hear it!

marine_man

[Phred52]

Glad to hear you're back on the water!! Also, It's nice to hear a follow-up on a project. So many times we're (FM'ers)are left 'hung out to dry' not knowing how things turned out. Thanks again mdl63! Phred52