New boat owner - 1975 Valco 13ft

[Jnicolls]

Hello all,

1st time boat owner.

I bought a 1975 13ft Valco a couple weeks ago. The transom had already been removed. The seller gave me the transom material he intended to install. I don’t have the old transom to use as a template.

I’ve drilled out the rivets on the transom brace. Decided this would be easier that removing the corner braces. I plan to dry fit the transom, drill the holes and then coat the transom in resin.

Looking ahead it would appear to be difficult to line up the newly drilled bolt holes with the old holes in the hill. I was thinking of simply covering the old holes with a new aluminum plate on the inside and outside of the hull. Securing the plates with 5200, maybe even some new rivets in the corners?

Seems a lot easier this way?

Brazing the old holes seems to be messy/ugly, especially for a noob. JB weld on the old holes seems ugly as well.

The transom wood appears to be thicker than the original. It’s 1 3/8” thick. I can’t seat it up all the way into the transom top plate. The transom brace rivet holes don’t line up either. About 1/4 inch off. Was thinking of using a router to take some material off the top and also a section for the brace so it fits properly. I don’t have a planer to take the whole piece down to 1” thickness.

Anyways, would be grateful for some past experience & knowledge in this matter.

Side note, a 1986 15hp 2 stroke Evinrude motor was included in the deal.

 

[LDUBS]

Sounds like you are not out-of-pocket for the glued-up transom blank (maple?) the the previous owner included. Instead of using that, you could get some 1/2" exterior ply and double up two pieces to get the 1" thickness you want. You would still want to seal it. Exterior ply will likely be more dimensionally stable than the glued-up blank. Not trying to be a wise guy here, but that glued-up blank looks nice. If not used on the boat, it would make some nice cutting boards.

If you are going to use the existing holes, I would mount the new transom board first then drill. If the existing holes are not going to be used, I'm not sure of the best method to close them up -- I'm sure others on this site will have some good solutions.

Congrats on the new boat. I grew up with Valco's out on the local lakes (they would have been slightly older than yours!). Have many fond memories.

PS: Came back to add, if that glued up piece was store bought, it was probably intended for inside use. I might question if the glues used would hold up to the environment on a boat. I could be wrong of course.

 

[sonny.barile]

I agree with the above statement. That block wood looks pretty but it is glued up. It will end up splitting at the glue joints. Plywood is a better and more commonly used wood for transoms. Seal it good and what ever you do…..do not use pressure treated wood.

That’s a nice boat to work with and 15 ponies is a good size motor for it. If you like speed you will not be disappointed.

 

[airshot]

I will 3 rd the recomendation to use plywood, the other glued lumber will probably fail when you need it the most. Two plywood layers will be much stronger!! As far as filling in unused holes, the trick is to create a small dent/ recess around the hole, an easy way is to use a ball pein hammer. Strike it hard enough to make a spherical divet around the hole, now the JB weld or other filler will have surface to bite on and stay in place. If you just try to fill the hole itself the material will shrink slightly and loosen or fall out. You need that divet to hold the material you fill the hole with!! sandbit smooth and paint over it, you will never see them....

 

[Jim]

Welcome! Thanks for joining!

 

[Jnicolls]

thanks for the replies everyone.

Regarding the transom material provided by the original seller, all I was told was that he had it specially made for him. No idea if it was put together with the proper glue. It would be a lot of work to cut it down to fit, only to find it falling apart in a couple years. A bit relieved with the advice to go the traditional plywood route.

Home Depot sells a 4x8 19/32 5 ply ACX plywood for $70, would that work ?
Their description states "NAUF (no added urea formaldehyde) water-resistant phenolic resin."

I took a pic of the transom with a flashlight shining to show how many bolt holes and corrosion holes are present. Looks pretty bad right?
Thinking of finding an aluminum sheet to cover all the holes, secure it with 5200 and rivet the sides. Cost effective ? Overkill ? Your thoughts ?

 

[Kismet]

My Alumacraft Model F was like that. It is a 1959 and was well-used long before I got it. I used JB weld seven or eight years ago and have not had any problem with it since.

You might check the link below my signature on this post and see if any other issues I had are similar to those you are encountering.

Best wishes.

 

[Jnicolls]

took a quick look at your pics of the '59, are those actual nails sticking out of the transom? Guessing those are what you're taking about having to fill ?

Will take a look at your other posts as well.

 

[Kismet]

JNicols? As I wrote, there were screw holes through the hull, into the hull,through the transom and into and through the hull wall and then into the facing board. They followed no rhyme nor reason, and were varying diameters.
I was told this boat made annual trips to Canada for a couple of decades on top of Chevy van,with an easy-lift pole attached to the rear bumper to swing it up and over.
I don't know what-all the owner was doing to the transom and hull. The screws you see are left from when the original transom deteriorated and left the screws behind.


It's tedious, but not hard.

Best wishes.

 

[Tin Man]

Congrats on new boat! Lots of fun ahead! Valcos are very durable boats and there are many here on the West Coast.

As already suggested, I agree on using epoxy covered plywood over the wood shown in your pics for the reasons already mentioned.

I would also agree on using the dimple and epoxy method for filling holes. I think with this method you will not need to add a sheet of alum to cover holes, unless there are really bad corroded areas from electrolysis.

There are many sharp minds around here with some really great ideas.
Have fun and share pics!

 

[1960 yellowboat]

Hello all,

1st time boat owner.

I bought a 1975 13ft Valco a couple weeks ago. The transom had already been removed. The seller gave me the transom material he intended to install. I don’t have the old transom to use as a template.

I’ve drilled out the rivets on the transom brace. Decided this would be easier that removing the corner braces. I plan to dry fit the transom, drill the holes and then coat the transom in resin.

Looking ahead it would appear to be difficult to line up the newly drilled bolt holes with the old holes in the hill. I was thinking of simply covering the old holes with a new aluminum plate on the inside and outside of the hull. Securing the plates with 5200, maybe even some new rivets in the corners?

Seems a lot easier this way?

Brazing the old holes seems to be messy/ugly, especially for a noob. JB weld on the old holes seems ugly as well.

The transom wood appears to be thicker than the original. It’s 1 3/8” thick. I can’t seat it up all the way into the transom top plate. The transom brace rivet holes don’t line up either. About 1/4 inch off. Was thinking of using a router to take some material off the top and also a section for the brace so it fits properly. I don’t have a planer to take the whole piece down to 1” thickness.

Anyways, would be grateful for some past experience & knowledge in this matter.

Side note, a 1986 15hp 2 stroke Evinrude motor was included in the deal.

Why not mount the wood first with no holes drilled and then use the old holes to drill the wood.