Lead Paint???

I'm Restoring a 1968 Saftmate and am curious to know if there is any chance the factory paint may contain lead. Another question i have is, how would i go about replacing the transom? Any details would be great. Thanks

 

Yep, the factory paint will very likely have lead in it. Wear a respirator.

How about a little more information about your boat, maybe a picture or two? I'll assume it a transom core you're looking to replace, not the whole transom right?

 

yes, it is just the core i want to replace. All I know about the boat is that it was manufactured by Saftmate which is now Four Winns. I believe there was two styles, a admiral and the cutlass which i have. I hope this helps.

 

Use the search tool on this site for transom replacement, transom core replacement, etc. Hundreds of previous threads will get you started.

Naturally the first thing to do is strip the back of the boat of it's hardware, engine and all.

 

you can buy little Lead Paint testors at any paint or

hardware store for about $6. You break the cloth covered glass tube and swab the juice on the area to be tested. If it turns red it means lead. The Juice is darkish yellow, so it can be misleading when you swab it on wood covered in lead paint. The Juice turns light colored wood to darkish brown and that can look a lot like the reddened lead primer. To make it clearly visible what is going on....make two little cuts down to wood or fiberglass and swaby only one so you can see what is primer/paint turned red and what is wood and white primer.

Often the most Lead is in the first layer of primer.

Your biggest concern would be children coming around to take a look at the project and getting lead paint dust on their hands and putting hands in mouths or eating.

 

Hey guys I appreciate the info. I'm glad I looked into this when i did. I'll pick up a lead test kit and post what i find out. Thanks again.

 

I've searched quite a bit on here and google for the transom replacement. I did'nt see any flex in the transom when I lifted up on the motor, but what I did find is when i took out the eye bolts, ( in the second pic you can see the two holes to the right of the motor where I removed one eye bolt) they were completly corroded/broken. I'm guessing that the transom is bad but not to the point of failure. If I do replace it. Do I have to take the top of the boat off? Do I cut it out from the inside or would it be easier way to cut out the transom from the outside? I have the tools to do the job but i also have a wife that can care less for boats. Maybe a ballpark figure for materials to do it myself and for someone else to do it.

 

Well, you're not able to use a pour in product, because you don't have a structural liner, like more modern boats. This leaves cutting the inside of the boat, which is difficult and requires more care or cutting the outside, which is easier and requires less effort, but you'll have to paint the transom at the very least.

I usually recommend folks cut the outside of their boat and the top of the deck cap at the transom. This is the least invasive and leaves the interior basically unmolested, but requires a hefty reattachment of the outer transom skin that has to be faired and painted.

Can you post some pictures of the inside of the boat's transom with the engine removed? It's got to come off anyway.

 

I'll have some pictures to put on here hopefully by Sunday.