Lowe 16 transom replacement or renewal

[jumbo16]

I bought this 1973 Lowe Jumbo 16 recently and I’m addressing the transom now. The wood piece appears to be the original one, it’s pretty dry but doesn’t seem to be rotten judging from the screws I’m pulling out without any dark or damp wood on them. I’m not really wanting to replace the wood but if it was an easy job I probably would. If I removed the bolts going through the two braces and the rivets going through the wood would the piece come out easily? I’m thinking it would drop down to clear the corner plates then back up to clear the two braces on the floor. Appreciate the help.

 

[DaleH]

That might do it, but me thinks you might need to cut the piece in 1/2 one way or the other ...

If the wood is sounds as you say, I'd coat it with epoxy ($25) then paint with a good RustOleum enamel color of choice. The RAKA Epoxy 'sample' kit is only $18 and $8.50 and should give you enough to wet-out the edge with a few coats and a coat on the inside, www.raka.com .

Those braces are the 'knees'. Depends on how much you can move them out of the way ...

 

[jumbo16]

Yeah, I’m going to just treat the wood in some way and move on to the other things on the list of things to do. I’ve used Raka products before so I’ll check them out.

 

[Ray Clark]

I saw this vid just the other day: Wayne the Boat Guy replaces a wood transom in a small tinnie.

If it was me, and it's not, but if it was, I'd replace the plywood. The linked video shows a situation very similar to yours, though perhaps his plywood was a little further gone than yours. The video also shows how he dealt with the bracing.

It's going to be tough to determine the real condition of the plywood that is facing the aluminum without putting eyes on it. It will also be impossible to seal that backside without removing it. Obviously, if you remove it, you'll replace it.

Edit to add: Unless each hole was properly treated, every one of those holes in the transom was a path that water could follow to get between the aluminum sheet and the plywood, not to mention a path into the interior veneers for decay.

 

[jumbo16]

I saw this vid just the other day: Wayne the Boat Guy replaces a wood transom in a small tinnie.

If it was me, and it's not, but if it was, I'd replace the plywood. The linked video shows a situation very similar to yours, though perhaps his plywood was a little further gone than yours. The video also shows how he dealt with the bracing.

It's going to be tough to determine the real condition of the plywood that is facing the aluminum without putting eyes on it. It will also be impossible to seal that backside without removing it. Obviously, if you remove it, you'll replace it.

Edit to add: Unless each hole was properly treated, every one of those holes in the transom was a path that water could follow to get between the aluminum sheet and the plywood, not to mention a path into the interior veneers for decay.

I’m going to weld all of the holes in the transom that will not be used. The previous owner had a piece of varnished plywood on the outside of the transom and put a bunch of holes in to hold it up. The wood on the inside is about 1 3/8 inch or so ply and I’m going to leave it in, resisting the temptation to make this a bigger project.

 

[Todd in NY]

Your boat looks identical to my 1974 Sears 16ft boat. It was made by Lowe.

I was considering replacing my transom wood, but it will require some serious planning, and possibly some metal bending or removal.

 

[jumbo16]

View attachment IMG_4015.mov
My buddy was TIG welding the holes in my transom and I noticed these little fires blowing through the wood on the other side. All of the holes, 25 of them, were sealed up nicely.

 

[jumbo16]

Got all of the welds ground down, now I have to smooth them all out.

 

[Axhammer]

Nice looking work. Nice boat too!

What are you going to power it with?

 

[jumbo16]

Nice looking work. Nice boat too!

What are you going to power it with?

I bought it with a 1982 Johnson 25, I just finished rebuilding the carb and adjusting the throttle linkage and it runs pretty good. This was the first time I cranked it up, before any adjustments at all…
View attachment IMG_4094.mov

 

[Axhammer]

Nice!

I have a 1992 Smoker Craft 1648 with a 1993 Rude 25 ES tiller.

A 25 works good on this size aluminum boat.