Transom shim/spacer material

WILD BILL

Member
A while back, I added the factory motor mount to the transom of my Capri 14.2 sailboat. I noticed that the factory rudder gudgeon support had a plastic like material shim between the support and the transom. I've noticed on other modifications on this forum that in some cases, shims or spacers made of teak or other types of wood were needed for this purpose. To either compensate for an uneven surface or added reinforcement. Such as boarding ladder or engine mount systems. Also as a spacer between the two layers of the transom. I went to both Home Depot and Lowes searching for this type of material and could not come up with what I was looking for. My wife suggested that I should check out kitchen cutting boards. Sure enough, this was exactly what I needed. I found most were 1/4 thick with a smooth surface, and made out of polypropylene. It's easy to work with and cuts very nicely on a table saw and you can drill nice clean holes with a sharp drill bit. Easy to shape with light sanding. Depending on the size of the board, the price at Wal Mart was less than 10.00 bucks. This stuff is hard as a rock and does not require in maintenance. I hate to admit it, but sometimes the
GUDGEON.JPG
MOTOR MOUNT.JPG
POLY.JPG
wives do come up with better solutions for us nautical experts.
 
I am planning to drill holes in my capri transom to install a battery for a trolling motor. Is the transom solid or is there a void between the hull and cockpit wall?
 
I'm sure their are others on this forum that can answer this question better than I can. The best way I know to locate solid areas in the transom of your boat, is to tap in different areas, and listen for a change in the sound. Before I installed a factory motor mount to my boat, I consulted the engineering folks at Catalina and was told that they did glass in wood along the port side of the transom for this purpose. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only solid area. I have read of others who have installed boarding ladders on the starboard side of the transom. This required cutting a hole in the starboard seat. Then installing a deck plate after inserting reinforcement spacers and the work. was completed. Depending on where you plan to install the battery, you could put a deck plate on either side.
In the search box of this forum, type in boarding ladder and I think you will find a really good explaination of how this was done. WB.
 

Back
Top