Smokercraft Alaskan - Transom Upgrade help

[Moley Molson]

Does anyone know if it's possible to convert the current "low cut" transom on my alaskan to a "no cut" transom? The low cut design worries me....taking on water etc. Also, i'm about ready to purchase a new motor and would like to get a long shaft so it can be used as a kicker on a bigger boat in the future.

Is it possible?
Any ideas on cost to do this?

[Splash]

I had a short transom for years and never had any problems. An occasional spot of taking on a little bit of water on a big wave but nothing that even got close to swamping me. Keeping the boat balanced is essential. I tried to keep the bulk of the weight in the middle of the boat, around the center bench, as possible. Only the gas tank and a small battery was kept in the back. And for goodness sake keep the heavy weight out of the nose. Plowing through a wave will sink you faster than one breaking over the back. My train of thought is that if you are worried then you probably should not be out in those conditions.

As far as upgrades I have seen 2 . One on a friends boat (home job) that was way over done and made the thing really transom heavy and, in my opinion, was worse off than the short transom. The other was a guy on the water that had it done professionally. He was complaining about the cost (can't remember the price tag (~$500?))but it appeared to be a well done job.

My suggestion is stay short and balanced, get a new hull or take it to the pro's. What is your safety worth?

[Road Rage]

I've used a long shaft motor on short shaft boats before. It creates a funny rooster tail, but other than that no real problem. I've also seen (can't remember where now) a bracket that bolts to the top of the low transom that creates a higher mounting point for the motor, like a full-height transom, but it does not go all the way across.

[nobrownline]

You can build one or have someone do it that can weld aluminum.You still can't go straight across with an alaskan.