transom rebuild with formica outer skins

P

philipt

Recruit
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
1
I am rebuilding the transom on my 1984 Grumman 5.0. I am using doug fir plywood and am short 1/8 of an inch for the width. Is there any reason not to laminate both sides of the transom with formica. I thought this would make a great water barrier. The transom rests in an aluminun pocket that has no holes for eventual water sepage. I was wondering if it would be worth while to drill holes in this pocket and then scallop the bottom of the transom the let water drain not just sit there. Any thoughts would be apreciated.
Thanks Phil
 
Grandad

Grandad

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 7, 2011
Messages
1,504
Re: transom rebuild with formica outer skins

Welcome to iBoats Philip. When I replaced the transom in my Starcraft I/O, I covered all sides, top, bottom and ends with Formica. I found a lot of opinions on what to use to preserve the plywood. I found that the Formica gave me a very predictable fit and finish that should be as waterproof as a kitchen countertop as long as you're thorough about sealing every possible edge and corner. The only area that was awkward to laminate was the cut-out for the I/O, so after smoothing the cut with sandpaper, I slathered it with 3M 5200 to seal it. - Grandad
 
G

Georgesalmon

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 14, 2012
Messages
1,793
Re: transom rebuild with formica outer skins

HPL, high pressure laminate, formica is very brittle and I doubt it would stand the vibrations from an outboard long with out cracking.
 
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