Transom wood type

[arcee1951]

I still haven't had any luck on getting the proper wood for the transom on my tinny. I have 3 options, without paying for a special order, adding another $40 to the $87 marine plywood. The options I have are ACX Pine, BCX Pine, and BCX Birch.

The 4th option would be to drive 400 miles round trip, so the $40 special handling would be cheap. Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[SumDumGuy]

Re: Transom wood type

The wood only has to be good enough to support the load it is subjected to.

I myself would and did use an oak ply I got at the local store. It may not last a couple hundred years, but I am confident with the sealing it will get at least 10++. That is long enough for me.

$.02

 

[Watermann]

Re: Transom wood type

I prefer marine ply, 7 layer 3/4" and no voids. Although if I had to drive 400 miles to get it or pay 40 extra then I would just go with the best sheets of exterior grade pine 3/4" 4 layer I could find and call it good. After all that's what the factory used on both my Sea Nymph and Starcraft. I think marine grade is sold to people like us, not the factory boat builders.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Transom wood type

Gotta factor some reality into the equation. How old is the boat? How long did the OEM wood last? What do you have for financial resources? Are you a realist or a perfectionist? If the latter is it worth the price? How long are you going to keep the boat?
Get the idea?

Mark

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Transom wood type

Stick with marine grade. No voids,nothing more aggravating than tightnibg a bolt and it sinks through a layer of wood.
Grub

 

[robert graham]

Re: Transom wood type

I used plain builder's plywood(not marine) for the transom plate for my aluminum canoe and it's lasted 20 plus years....I fabricated the plate then applied multiple coats of a thinned polyurethane (so it would penetrate the wood)....Now about once a year I might inspect/scrape/sand a bit and apply more polyurethane....transom plate is still very strong and hard from the polyurethane in the wood....it'll most likely outlast me!....

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Transom wood type

My vote is ACX

 

[chconger]

Re: Transom wood type

If you go marine grade, make sure you get what you pay for. Needs the B.S. (British Standard (Lloyds)) 1088 stamp to be the real McCoy:

Best of luck
Chris

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Transom wood type

ACX pine will be fine.

I doubt the Birch is exterior grade.

 

[matt167]

Re: Transom wood type

I used 3 layers of 1/2" ACX on mine. I used 3 of the best sheets I had, clamped them together and cut from the center. No voids that I can see.. I did 3 lamination’s of 1/2" because I gained 2 plies over 3/4" laminated together... Hardest part was making sure the lumber yard actually got me the right stuff. Apparently ACX isn't a great seller and they just couldn't understand it. They wrote up the bill for CDX ( common roof sheathing ) twice.. My Custom Craft actually DID have marine Fir in the transom tho. I found a knot repair biscuit delaminated from one section, and they are not so common with exterior grade, but very common with Marine fir. Also, the original transom had no voids...

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Transom wood type

I used 3/4", non-PT, exterior grade plywood from Lowes (Aurco brand, I think) and its worked great. As long as you seal it properly, it will last many, many moons. If you can afford to coat it with 2-part epoxy it will outlast your grand kids. Be sure to use stainless steel hardware throughout and dip any through hull fittings in a bit of 3M 5200 marine caulk, which you can also get at Lowes.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Transom wood type

I used 2 layers of 3/4", non-PT, exterior grade plywood from Lowes (Aurco brand, I think) on my 14' tinny and its worked great. As long as you seal it properly, it will last many, many moons. If you can afford to coat it with 2-part epoxy it will outlast your grand kids. Be sure to use stainless steel hardware throughout and dip any through hull fittings in a bit of 3M 5200 marine caulk, which you can also get at Lowes.

EDIT: sorry for the double post. computer spazz.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Transom wood type

My vote is for ACX although Plytanium exposure 1 rating also uses waterproof glue in its fabrication. WOG expounds that a wood transom will last many many years if it is treated properly.

 

[Fcdave]

Re: Transom wood type

I found BC ext grade Doug Fir ply at my location Home Depot....and that's what's in my Transom now..... Any ext quality ply will work...As long as you cover it with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy ( 1st coat a slow thinned penetrating sealer) including all edges, it will last a lifetime. You can finish it with varnish for natural look or paint. I have used ext grade ply with epoxy/ varnish on my boats before and it has lasted yrs in ocean environment with a new top coat of varnish every 3-4 yrs for great natural wood looks!

 

[arcee1951]

Re: Transom wood type

I found BC ext grade Doug Fir ply at my location Home Depot....and that's what's in my Transom now..... Any ext quality ply will work...As long as you cover it with 2 or 3 coats of epoxy ( 1st coat a slow thinned penetrating sealer) including all edges, it will last a lifetime. You can finish it with varnish for natural look or paint. I have used ext grade ply with epoxy/ varnish on my boats before and it has lasted yrs in ocean environment with a new top coat of varnish every 3-4 yrs for great natural wood looks!

Thanks to everyone. I'm going with the ACX. It was the only thing available anywhere close. I'm 62 years old, and that is a record for my dad's side of the family, for 3 generations, and the boat will be garaged. Today I'll start cutting and get the 2 pieces glued together. One last question.....the plywood is called 3/4", but is only 23/32nds. Is the 1/16 of an inch going to be an issue, after the 2 pieces are glued together, or is that standard. The old transom was so water logged, that I couldn't tell how thick it was. I had to used various methods to get it out, piece by piece.

Thanks.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Transom wood type

Yeah, thanks to modern dimensions you'll have to glue a few sheets together and they're never gonna add up quite right :/ My transom was a little too thick to fit under the stock transom cap, so I had to shave it down a bit so it would slip under there. You could contour it with a belt sander, or cut a small lip into to the top. I wouldn't worry about the 1/16" too much. If you glue, screw, and seal the layers of the transom together properly it will be solid as a rock.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Transom wood type

A layer of CSM and PB between the transom glass and your new wood will make up that 1/16" easy.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Transom wood type

A layer of CSM and PB between the transom glass and your new wood will make up that 1/16" easy.

Psst, hey Scott:

I still haven't had any luck on getting the proper wood for the transom on my tinny. I have 3 options, without paying for a special order, adding another $40 to the $87 marine plywood. The options I have are ACX Pine, BCX Pine, and BCX Birch.
The 4th option would be to drive 400 miles round trip, so the $40 special handling would be cheap. Thoughts?
Thanks.

One of the problems of having multiple threads covering the same ground......

If you really wanted to, as long as you don't mind the guys w/ the funny tin hats standing in the yard w/ their torches :tinfoil3:, sure, add some CSM & PB and regain that 1/16"... :watermelon: