Boat question

[JayandCade]

My son has an old 12' deep V aluminum row boat. It has wood side rails and transom. It nothing fancy, but it is a safe boat for the kids. The wood has dry rotted and the oar holders have broke off. There are soft spots in the transom. Does anyone know of someone that can replace the wood in the Mercer area? Not looking for a high priced restoration, just a fix.

Thanks,
Jay

[msklng10]

My son has an old 12' deep V aluminum row boat. It has wood side rails and transom. It nothing fancy, but it is a safe boat for the kids. The wood has dry rotted and the oar holders have broke off. There are soft spots in the transom. Does anyone know of someone that can replace the wood in the Mercer area? Not looking for a high priced restoration, just a fix.

Thanks,
Jay

Jay,

I replaced both the transom and benches on my 1972 14' Smokercraft aluminum semi-V in 2000. 14 years later, the wood is better than the original boat's new wood. I used marine grade plywood coated with 10 layers of spar urethane. Reassembly was done replacing screws with stainless steel bolts. It was actually a blast of a project with many friends and family helping out. If you can remove the transom in one piece, then you can simply trace the outline of the old transom on to the new wood. You may need to laminate (screw & glue) different width pieces together. If you don't feel confident enough with a saw to match the trace, I'm sure you'll find a buddy who can get it done. Good Luck