My 79 Lowe 1648 project

[tinboatlover]

I got the rest of the boat stripped and ready for Line-X. The transom is almost done and I will post pics as soon as I get it finished. The transom is looking pretty cool. I'm impressed with how strong it is turning out. Really glad I went with aluminum instead of wood. I hung off the back of the jack plate and I weigh 250 pounds and it was fine. That is good considering I haven't got all the supports in or any of the tie-ins that will attach the transom to the back fishing deck. I can't wait. It is taking forever doing it a couple hours at a time, but I will get the outside of the boat completely done this week. It will be a deep blue. There was a lot more wrong with the boat than what I am showing, so that is another reason it seems like forever getting anything done. I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

[tinboatlover]

I got to work on the boat some today. I have several pics and I will load them in 2-3 posts. Here they are. Especially notice the transom pics and the difference between the transom earlier in the build and now.

 

[tinboatlover]

Here are the transom pics. Notice how I made the transom with channels to be able to attach the decking directly to the transom to make both the deck and the transom stronger. I am 6'5" and 250 pounds and I am able to hang off of the jack plate and there is not even a little flex or twist in the transom. It is a far cry from how it started. It was torn, twisted, flopped back and forth - and that was with no motor on the back. I wouldn't think twice about putting a 35 hp on the back now. I could put larger, but that is all it is rated for. Now it is much stronger than when it was new 32 years ago! It took forever, but it is almost done. I still have to tig weld the outside edge of the new sheet aluminum I put on the outside and add some additional tie-in bracing, but it is a huge relief to get the biggest problem on the boat taken care of!!!!! I will be able to get the outside ready for steelflex by the end of the week. I think I am going to use that now instead of line-x because of cost (I plan on selling it before next year). Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

 

[tinboatlover]

Don't forget what that transom looked like. Here is the original transom.

 

[bulldog]

That boat was as good as scrap and look what some elbow grease and some time/money did to it. Craziness. Looks amazing so far. Keep up the good work.

 

[tinboatlover]

Thanks Bulldog. I have a long way to go, but that was probably the biggest challenge on the boat. Things should move a little faster now.

 

[njTom]

Your doing a great job so far! keep it up =D>

 

[SlowRollin']

Wow! You turned a piece of weak tin into a tank. What a transformation already.

What prep work did you do to the trailer before paint and what kind of paint did you use?

As for the tears in the hull, did you have those welded?

Keep up the amazing work. =D>

T.

 

[tinboatlover]

Your doing a great job so far! keep it up =D>

Thanks njTom. I hope I can stay focused and don't get sidetracked.

Wow! You turned a piece of weak tin into a tank. What a transformation already.

What prep work did you do to the trailer before paint and what kind of paint did you use?

As for the tears in the hull, did you have those welded?

Keep up the amazing work. =D>

T.

I took a disc that works with a drill and ground most of the old paint off - which was difficult because it had about 6 different colors of paint on it. I used Rustoleum spray cans for all the hard to reach areas and some enamel paint from a local tractor store for everything I could brush on. It still needs some work (2 of the middle supports need cut out and new ones welded in), but I will wait until the boat is done or until next year to tackle that. I want to get the boat done at this point!

As for the tears - yes and no. I did not actually have the old tears welded. I sandwiched the old transom wall in between a new piece of sheet aluminum that I cut out and placed on the back and 1.5" tubing on the inside of the transom wall. I also used 1.5" angle on the top and riveted through the new angle, old transom, and then through the new tubing. It in effect acts like several pieces of wood that are stacked on top of each other to gain strength by layering - except it is aluminum (but same principle). I then bolted the 2 transoms together with the bracing on the inside of the boat with 3/8" stainless steel bolts. I then used 3/16" rivets to attach the 2 transom pieces together in the middle first - so I didn't get a bow in the sheet aluminum - and then I worked my way out to the sides. I made sure to seal each rivet with 3m5200 marine sealant. I probably went a little overboard because I used 3 tubes of it on the transom! :LOL2: It went through into the tubing though and I shouldn't have to worry about leaks. I then took 2 1.5" pieces of angle per 1 piece of tube and doubled them up to form a channel. I held them in place with clamps and drilled through the 2 transoms, the tubing, and the 2 pieces of angle. The ss bolts were snugged down with locking nuts and completely covered with 3m5200 until it was running out of the holes on the inside and the outside. The only thing I have left to do on the transom is I am having the outside of the entire transom tig welded tomorrow. I will be like a completely new transom. The old torn pieces will not even matter because I have gone over it with all new aluminum, re-enforced it, and now it will be welded like it was new. It was really hard to get everything lined up to weld the outside edges of the 2 transom pieces, so that is why I used all the rivets - to snug everything down so it would be easy to weld and there would not be any flopping between the 2 pieces.

I am very pleased with the results. I didn't realize until after I had completed the new transom that most welded bass boats are supported the same way and covered with an additional piece of sheet aluminum so you can't see any of that. That just made me feel better since they are putting 40-115 hp motors on the back of aluminum bass boats. Didn't mean to be so long, but I was trying to be as complete as possible without writing a book. Oh yeah, I used long strand fiberglass to coat the old transom inside and out to seal all of the holes in the old transom before attaching anything new. I just thought I would point that out. It was probably overkill since I put a new transom over it, but I just thought I would mention that too.

 

[tinboatlover]

One more thing - saved a TON of weight compared to the old transom. The last guy had a 30 pound piece of 1'/2" aluminum stuck over top of a water-logged piece of wood. The wood didn't provide any strength at all and the weight was probably 10-15 pounds for just the wood. It probably totaled around 50 pounds for the old transom re-enforcement that obviously didn't work. The new transom weighs in at about 10 pounds ( and 10x stronger) versus almost 50 pounds for the old transom. I was pretty pleased with the weigh reduction.

 

[SlowRollin']

Appreciate the detailed explanation. Looks very solid.

Keep it up!

 

[tinboatlover]

Well, good new and bad news! Bad news first. I took my boat to get it tig welded and the guy was flying out the door on an emergency call. He said he could do it but not until next week. Figures!!!! Everything on this boat has been like that. I was telling my wife on the way to drop off the boat that it was just too easy. Something had to go wrong - and then it didn't get welded.

Now for the good news! I did a water test before I start to go back and fix individual rivets and leaks and I was pleasantly surprised. The transom, although it is not welded yet, is still waterproof. The bottom and the bottom part of the sides were almost waterproof. I had 3 SMALL leaks that were less than a drip every 1-2 minutes. Actually one of the three was a drip every 30 seconds, but still not bad. I expected FAR worse. It was one of the few good things that has happened during this project.

One more bit of good news - my Steelflex is here! I ordered something I had not seen and I was hoping I wouldn't be disappointed. I like the color but I wish it was a shade darker. The color is Hialeah blue (they call it royal blue but I think it is a shade lighter because royal blue is my favorite color). Maybe it will be a little darker when it dries on the boat, but if not, it still will look a lot better than it did when I bought it. I uploaded a pic of the pigment lid. Let me know what you think. I haven't seen anyone on here use this color so far and I thought it may help someone that was trying to make up their mind. By the way, it is actually just a shade darker than it looks in this picture. Not much, but a little. Until next time......

 

[Oldgeek]

Wow, nice job on the transom, but you'll need it strong for the two motors. It is amazing how many holes get put in a boat over the course of 20-30 years. My 1640 Lowe has over 100 holes in it but most are on the seats or on the top rail. I guess every owner has their own ideas of how to set them up.

 

[tinboatlover]

Thanks Oldgeek. Yeah, my boat had over 100 holes too. I think there were 119 to be exact. You couldn't see all of the holes in the old transom because there was some of the old fiberglass still covering holes that I hadn't cleaned off yet. Amazingly, it's still virtually watertight. As always, I am going a bit overboard with sealing the boat, but I always seem to do a bit more than what is necessary. Anyhow, I'll be posting my new blue boat as soon as I can get the edge of the transom welded this week. Check back for more pics!

 

[Nussy]

Well, how'd the Steelflex go?

 

[tinboatlover]

Well, it has been postponed for a few days. I took my boat to have the transom edges tig welded and the welder was running out of the door on an emergency call when I showed up. He said sorry, but I'll get you Monday or Tuesday. I thought CRAP!!! I am ready to Steelflex as soon as he welds the edges. I have even asked if I could bring it to his house if it would be any quicker, but that didn't fly! :LOL2: Oh well. I was trying to get the whole boat done by next weekend, but now I don't know if I'll make it. I will Steelflex it as soon as it's welded. I HATE waiting though. It sucks!

 

[tinboatlover]

I changed my mind on the color. I decided I didn't like the royal blue they sent because it was considerably brighter than most royal blues I normally like. So, I did a custom mix my self and now you can see the new color.

 

[tinboatlover]

The boat is finally welded! Tomorrow I get to apply the Steelflex! I can't wait. I feel like I'm finally making some progress.

 

[hsiftac]

lookin forward to hearing how the steelflex went, good luck

 

[alanbird_87]

Great job on beefing up that transom! =D>