# Pine wood ok for transom reinforcement?



## Thundra (Jul 16, 2012)

Hello all,

I finally got the chance to get my rowboat home and take the transom off to replace the wood inside. I wish I took pics but it was pretty easy getting all the old rusty nuts off, the bolts were all S/S but they spun as they were all carriage bolts and the squares had all rounded in the boat. In one case I had to dremel a slot for a screwdriver to get one nut off, otherwise, all the other bolts came out easily. 

I had to drill out 4 rivets for the corner braces;








I cut out a piece of pine as I needed a 4' x 4 5/8" piece and I wonder how long it should last. 

There was nothing but a few scraps of wood inside the transom as between rot and maybe bugs, if the boat is a 1974 or so, it is almost 40 years old. Even if it were a 1980, it would be 30+ years old. 


I bolted up the corner braces with stainless steel nuts and bolts and have to go to the hardware store for new S/S bolts, nuts and washers and drill out the holes for the 2 handles and the knee braces and then the boat should be done.


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## Vermonster (Jul 16, 2012)

Did you seal the wood with anything? Pine is a bit soft in my mind, but It likely depends on what kind of motor you're attaching to it. Most would recommend exterior grade plywood sealed. Epoxy and Paint for sealing is ideal, but 3 coats of spar urethane would be fine as well. If it's truly just a "Row Boat" the pine will likely do, but I would still seal it with something.


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## Thundra (Jul 16, 2012)

I didn't seal it at all. 

I have a 6-HP Mercury outboard that I have for the boat. 

I had been running the boat with that transom-channel empty and while the motor clamp made 2 round indents because the aluminum channel was empty, now with a piece of wood on the inside, it should be a lot better. 

I have to figure that if I have to take the transom channel out again once the wood starts to or goes bad, I'll just replace it again. 

I hope it does rot out and makes it easy to get out as I had cut the replacement piece of wood so close that I had to spend a while banging the wood into the channel. I had to cut off the last 6" and stick it in the other end as I could not get that last few inches in it was so tight.


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## acabtp (Jul 16, 2012)

Thundra said:


> I didn't seal it at all. ... I hope it does rot out and makes it easy to get out as I had cut the replacement piece of wood so close that I had to spend a while banging the wood into the channel. *I had to cut off the last 6" and stick it in the other end as I could not get that last few inches in it was so tight.*


that's no way to build a transom. you should tear it out and do it right now.


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## fishinnut (Jul 16, 2012)

With such a small transom, why wouldn't you do it right? Exterior plywood and a few coats of polyurethane at minimum. [-X


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## Thundra (Jul 17, 2012)

Do you think I'll get 5 or 10 years out of the pine? 







I suppose that down the road, it will make for a good project for my now 2 year old boy and I to tackle together if I look at it that way. He'll be 7 in 5 years and 12 in 10.


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## acabtp (Jul 17, 2012)

Thundra said:


> Do you think I'll get 5 or 10 years out of the pine?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


hey, it's your boat, do whatever you want. just bear in mind what you have in there is insufficient for the job you are asking it to do.


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## gumbo860 (Jul 17, 2012)

Untreated, if that pine gets soaked once or twice from rain or spray or anything, it's going to start warping pretty quickly. Not to mention its pretty soft. I'd take it out and do it again with either stacked ply or at least seal the pine. Just IMO.


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## Thundra (Jul 17, 2012)

That piece of painted white pine is another piece I replaced, the actual piece that is untreated/uncovered, is inside the top of the transom, encased by that rectangular piece of aluminum. 

I appreciate all the suggestions/comments and help. 

I just wonder, why is it that with all the wood, 2x4, 2x6, 2x8's I have laying around in my woodpile, that sit out all winter covered with snow, and are otherwise exposed to the elements 24/7/365, they don't warp or check or do anything but turn gray, but now that it is encased in aluminum, that I need to worry? 

Granted, the boat will be used in saltwater but the boat won't sit in the water all the time as the bottom is not painted, yet. 


I have to figure, the boat ran well with NO wood inside, in this case, is something better than nothing?


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## gumbo860 (Jul 17, 2012)

Yes, the wood is better than nothing. And that wood you have sitting outside in the elements is absolutely warping... It's just not bolted to anything or screwed down so you can't tell when it is warped or twisted and it can return to shape once dried out or what not. It's like a deck board, if it is not sealed it will start to warp and curl and since a deck board is held down by screws to be flat it is very obvious when you stub your toe to see what has happened. If you don't think untreated lumber is effected by the elements aside from discoloring then I don't know what to tell ya. 

What you've done will serve its purpose for a time... Whose to say how long. It's simply not the logical way to do it for a long term solution.


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## jigngrub (Jul 17, 2012)

Being encased will make it hold moisture and shorten the life, but it doesn't look hard to get to if you need to replace it... should be ok for a few years.


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## Thundra (Jul 17, 2012)

Double Post


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## Thundra (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks gumbo860, that makes sense to me now. I didn't realize that the wood in my c-channel that is now held tightly in place like a girdle on a woman's midsection, along with 10 bolts and 4 screws, won't get the chance to expand and contract like they would if left outside on their own. 

I even pounded out the round- indents made by the 2 different motor clamps as there was nothing at all to stop the channel/Aluminum from being dented by the round clamp pads. Now with the wood, it should help for a little while anyway. 


The transom channel, now that I have replaced the stern corner braces with S/S nuts and bolts and put new galvanized hardware to hold everything in place, will be easy to take off when I need to do the job again.


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## gumbo860 (Jul 17, 2012)

Indeed. Your wood will hold long enough to satisfy the need, for sure. Definitely better than nothing at all.


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## DaveInGA (Jul 17, 2012)

I gotta ask ya this though. If you've gone through that much work to get the transom in there, why not take the little bit of extra time it takes to seal it properly so you'll get the maximum amount of life out of it?


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## Thundra (Jul 17, 2012)

Good question. 

I wondered what kind of wood might have been in the original transom. Maybe white oak or something?, definitely not pressure treated or anything like that. 

I figured that for the first time taking the cap off, I'd see how it all goes and then just stuff the cut-down 2x6 I had laying around and then the next time I need to do it, when my boy gets older, I can make it a project for the both of us.


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## jigngrub (Jul 17, 2012)

Thundra said:


> and put new* galvanized* hardware to hold everything in place, will be easy to take off when I need to do the job again.



You'll regret the galvanized hardware, and it won't be easy to get off when it corrodes... but don't take my word for it, you'll see.


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## spangler2k3 (Jul 17, 2012)

pardon me if i sound offensive.. im relatively new here and do not want to be "that guy"
but i do know a few things about wood and the elements.. any material and the elements for that matter...

*stainless steel should be your best friend... when in doubt.. use SS...
*most wood can be sealed in as little as 2 days.(thats included drying time) i used UPF- Flood or something like that.. lightly sanded after 36 hours.. and sprayed a light layer of laquer (sp?,) then carpeted all my wood... 
*lastly.... when you ask a question and someone gives you their suggestion and tells you that what you have WILL fail.. it's time to reconsider and cut your losses now... it would be simple to remove the wood.. sand it, and even put a coat or 2 of urethane or some waterproofing stain on it.. last thing you need is to be cruising at a relatively high speed and have that board rot and have your motor fall off.. ( i know that sounds very very extreme. but it's happened.. youtube it)


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## Thundra (Jul 30, 2012)

The good news is that I got to try the boat out this past Thursday evening and the vibration overall was a LOT less now that I got the wood inside that transom channel.


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