Replacing a Rotten Pontoon Transom

[@1mnstrbassplyer]

I can say I truly wished I had the confidence that you have to all the work that you do. For me tackling the transom on my pontoon boat would not happen by me. But after watching you do that so easily and smooth, I might just tackle it. Im just starting my refit on my 20 foot Misty Harbor pontoon boat and I am watching you do all the things I need and want to do to my boat, taking lots of notes, even pausing the video to take a picture on my phone to make sure I do it right. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I truly believe by watching you my, boat will be awesome when im done. Thanks again!

[@tomspontoons]

That's the best kind of feedback we can hope to get for the channel. There were lots of pontoon related videos on KZbin when we started, but nearly nothing showing HOW to do the restoration projects that so many people want to tackle. At the shop we're helping our customers bring their boats back to life and on KZbin we're able to help all sorts of folks tackle their own projects at home. It's been a lot of fun!

[@curteby475]

im doin so much of your content and your videos are the greatest help to me, thanks so much for your help 😊

[@tomspontoons]

Great, so glad to hear that! Thanks for watching!

[@luisaraujo4708]

As always, invaluable information. Thanks!!

[@tomspontoons]

Happy to help!

[@brianwalk108]

Can a thick aluminum plate be used instead of wood for transom? Why or why not?

[@tomspontoons]

Yes. I have replaced them with tube aluminum. If installed on 8” centers you will have the proper bolt pattern

[@DaSween]

I don’t have a hoist or anything to swap my engines. What I do is back up to a strong tree branch and throw a chain around then limb and a come-along on the chain and just crank her off. Sometimes to take off, I put a tire under the motor and crank my trailer all the way up so the transom lowers from the engine bracket and slowly guide the engine on its side.

[@tomspontoons]

That’s the beauty of being creative and knowing how to make things work to get it done!

[@brianhowes6448]

Great info. Getting ready to do a full restore so the transom will certainly be a part of that.

[@tomspontoons]

It’s a little extra work, but we’ll worth it when you’re spending the time and effort to get your boat restored. Thanks for watching!

[@travismorgan4249]

I don’t know if they’ve changed the formula in the treated wood, but I just opened up 1999 G3 1648 Jon boat and any place they had treated plywood sandwiched between the aluminum there was major corrosion and pitting. It honestly surprised me how much it had ate through the .090 aluminum. That transom is open on the back so it probably breathes better than the ply being fully encapsulated like in my boat.

[@tomspontoons]

I’ve heard of that being the case in some of those Jon boats. Are you all freshwater use or has it ever seen salt? Sometimes that water getting trapped in there can be pretty bad over time. Especially in some situations with higher electrolysis and such.

[@travismorgan4249]

@@tomspontoons I will only be using it in fresh water but the boat was previously registered about 2-3 hours from the coast, so there’s a chance it has seen some salt over the years. I really want to cut the transom cap off to get the wood transom out and replace with an aluminum transom bc I know it has corrosion, but it has these beefy corner cap/braces that are really nicely TIG welded into 3” gunnels and I know I’ll never get it back together as clean as it is now. If I lived closer to your shop I would have you do it. Keep up the great work. Loving the videos!

[@tomspontoons]

@@travismorgan4249 yep, I’ll bet it’s seen some salt or brackish water over its years if it’s got that much corrosion. Check around with some local welders near you. They should be able to get it back together nicely for you if they specialize in aluminum welding.

[@MelissaGarland-vh2se]

You would make a fortune if you had this operation in NH around lake Winnepesaukee. Very hard to find a custom Pontoon Boat restoration expert in our state.

[@tomspontoons]

We built a pontoon work barge for some folks out on Lake Winnepesaukee! J’s Barge Services. Bright orange wheelhouse on it.

[@piper8463]

Nice - I was researching this for Aluminum Boats and came across Coosa boards. Yeah you never have to worry about it again but marine plywood is economical and like you said will last another 30 years.

[@tomspontoons]

Yup, everybody gets to make the decision on their own. I trust what I’ve seen work for decades when I take boats apart.

[@SaltyOregonian]

Niiiice. I just picked up the same yr. Bass buggy Pontoon ha.

[@tomspontoons]

They’re a popular boat!!!

[@robbienardelli4272]

Tom have a question regarding the transom. I have redone a 1985 Crestline 29' pontoon boat in which I plan on adding an additional pontoon in front of transom in order to make it a sports tritoon. The boat came with a Johnson 70 hp which is attached to the boat now which is new transom board which is seen in this video. I got a steal on a Johnson 225 hp 25" shaft for $200 which I ultimately am in the process of rebuilding due to it only having low compression. My concern is the weight of it when completed and ready to mount. I redid the boat with brand new 1/4" thick aluminum crossmembers and added a few extra in the rear for extra transom support. I was planning on doing away with the wooden transom block for the extra 225Hp due to weight and adding some thick aluminum to better support the weight. Was looking for some insight or your thoughts to see if this is appropriate, just would hate to rebuild this motor and then see it at the bottom of the lake when we set sail. Thank you

[@tomspontoons]

That's a huge upswing in weight and torque. I would 100% get rid of the wood in the transom and likely have it reinforced all around to make it beefier to take that size motor. Adding in stronger and extra crossmembers during the rebuild was huge as otherwise I'm sure you'd see issues from the weight...and you'll still likely have some sag in the crossmembers and deck from all that weight on the transom (as opposed to a full length center toon. The best scenario would be to install a full length center toon with transom. This would be stronger, and you can find them or have them made to hold a 25" shaft motor. If you put that 25" on your standard transom you'll be too deep in the water....then adding a jackplate will add even more stress to your transom. Not trying to be discouraging, but there's a reason we don't see 225 hp motors on old boats like that too often!!

[@reynoldsautorepair173]

Hello Sir. Our boat has a couple pieces of aluminum that is screwed to the floor supports and then to the plywood. No wire or anything underneath them. What would these be for and do I need to put them back on. Thank You Again. Enjoying the videos. Thank you for talking to me on the phone last week. L

[@tomspontoons]

They’re likely out there to keep water from getting between your pieces of plywood from splash and spray. Are they all on the forward side of the crossmembers? I’ve never seen them be aluminum, they’re usually plastic, but aluminum works too!

[@reynoldsautorepair173]

@@tomspontoons They are on the forward side but there’s only 2 of the about middle ways

[@tomspontoons]

@@reynoldsautorepair173 the previous owner probably got water up through those seams. I’d reinstall them to be safe

[@reynoldsautorepair173]

Hello Sir On My corner seat there was a angled black piece that came with it . Where does it go

[@tomspontoons]

Hopefully this video helps: Pontoon Stuff Luxury Seating Install - 28" Corner Seat kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4vVgYeKr7ejbLM

[@reynoldsautorepair173]

@@tomspontoons That works. Thank You

[@tomspontoons]

Happy to help!

[@J.W.W.]

Watching to see if you raise the engine when you re-mount it 👍 Marine wood is how I redid mine, at 60 YO it'll outlive me. Edit: Nice work! You went back to standard mount height, that's safe.

[@tomspontoons]

Yes, I played it safe as I do on all jobs where the motor comes off!!

[@brianwalk108]

Can a thick aluminum plate be used instead of wood for transom? Why or why not?

[@tomspontoons]

I've used aluminum rectangle tube on transoms before and it's worked great. Installed on 8" centers will give you the proper spacing for your bolt pattern on motors with trim and tilt.