Transom replacement, curved to straight question

[bikerider]

I have a boat with no cap on it. Doesn't seem to be a problem. Looks a bit unfinished though.

Do you have a pic?

 

[FuzzyGrub]

The top cap on any wooden transoms I've had, was thin and just protection from rain and scuffing/wear of installing motors on/off.

 

[LDUBS]

Most of the transom replacements I've seen are two pieces of marine plywood sandwiched together so I guess the top cap is kind of important.

Yes. And really not just for plywood. Best to avoid water getting trapped between the transom skin and the wood.

 

[bushmoose]

It looks like I have more things to look into. I appreciate everyone's input. It seems like the top cap has more to do with being a finish than really making the transom sturdy. Is that a correct assumption?

I agree. Top caps are good, but don't over-think it? Treat the replacement plywood well and then go fishing. Its a small tinny that I'm sure will give you several more years of service whether you have the cap on or off.

 

[thill]

Personally, I WOULD add a top cap, but it doesn't need to be fancy.

A piece of 1.5"x1.5" angle aluminum with the down leg set on the inside should do a great job. Bed it in some 3M 4200, if you like, or a number of other sealants.

If you use 1/8" - 3/16" thick stock, it will add stiffness, but I would only do that if I intended to run the boat up on plane often. Otherwise, thin will work just fine, and protect your transom core from unnecessary weathering and rot.

 

[mirrocraft16]

I had an older Starcraft year ago that although it was a 16ft hull it had a 15" transom. Wanting to fix this and the original transom skin was drilled with a hundred holes with a ton of bad patches I tig welded in all the holes, ground it flush, then cut a piece of aluminum to extend the transom straight across to give a proper 20" transom. Since I had access to a welder at work this was a no brainer option. When it came to the top cap, the original was worn through and rotted away beyond the possibility of straightening it and reusing it.

I tried the cut tubing trick but found that even the thinnest aluminum tubing was too thick and created a 'lip' situation at the top. I bend up a piece of the same metal I used to extend the transom but it wouldn't bend without cracking. I tried softer aluminum but that opened up problems with dissimilar metal issues and the fact that it was too soft to survive any real use.
In the end I went ahead and made the new wood transom panel, coating and bonding the panels together with epoxy and even making stainless steel ferrules for each and ever through
hole. One option was to route out the top edges o fthe wood transom panels and make up a piece to fit inside the two panels which would be welded in place but that would make any future repairs a nightmare. I chose to just fill the top gap with both a lay in flush strip of aluminum set in thick epoxy resin which was then sanded and painted to match the hull.

It worked out fine but I ended up not keeping that boat for very long, I was never happy with it not being 100% factory looking and knowing what i was in for come the time it needs a new transom again, I sold it in favor of one that came factory with a 20" transom and one that was from a non saltwater area.