Transom Help

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damianz31

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Alright, little help is need, i have zero experience in building a boat, dad is helping out a little but i hate to bother him.

After going to home depot and asking around i felt like i knew more than any of the workers just by reading stuff online... which was a joke.

I need to build a transom for a boat i got, 14ft aluminum.

So i know i can't use treated wood (not sure what it looks like but i have seen some labels)
I found this piece behind the garage and im not sure if it would be good or not.
IMG_6114.jpg
IMG_6116.jpg

Any recommendations?

Link to my build:
https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?t=37206
 
looks like 3/4 cdx. For a 14' jon boat I'd imagine the transom would be 1", if you have room to get one an 1-1/2 thick in there your in bussiness. Just seal it up with some epoxy resin and you'll be good to go for as long as you'll want to keep the boat. Marine ply is stronger but you ain't hangin 200 ponies back there
 
I have a small 4.5 hp motor....
So this wood would be fine or no?
I don't know whether its treated or not and strong enough...
 
If there are no stamps on it, then I'm not sure how'd you'd be sure that it is exterior grade. I guess you could put 2 layers together and as said above epoxy coat it. For me, I surely would not count on regular plywood (non marine or exterior grade) coated with urethane or worse paint holding up. If you use that I'd use epoxy, but why invest in epoxy to coat questionable wood?
 
2 coats of west marine epoxy and you'll be good to go. Make sure you put some sealant on the fastening screws and bolts
 
Look at it from outside the box - - - -

If you look around, you will see a LOT of painted plywood signs by the roadways.
Professional signmakers will use MDO (Medium Density Overlay) which will last years and years
outside if prepared properly. But, it is extremely HEAVY.

On the other hand, you will see some home made plywood signs with very little prep that are at least
a decade old and still in good shape.
IMO, if you can prevent water from getting to the inside of plywood, the longer it will last.
The sun's UV rays is what really beats up paint. Once the paint degrades, the wood is right behind it.
If you do not have the financial ability to epoxy the entire transom, at least try to do the edges and put
several coats of primer and paint on the rest and you will be happy for many years to come.
and seal all holes that you drill into it prior to putting in the bolts etc.

Edit: since that particular plywood has already been exposed to the weather, try to cut new sections
for your projects. Meaning, don't use the factory edges that are weathered as they are already starting
to break down. Lightly sand the flat surfaces just to break off the fuzz, prime and paint.

Jus my dos centavos.
 
You can't beat Raka epoxy - as good as West Systems, doesn't need special mixing pumps that are high maintenance to clean and much LESS expensive!

See www.raka.com, a 1/2 gallon kit is around $50.
 
Use your old wood as a template (if you have it), and cut the ply you have. Get some spar varnish at wally world or lowes depot, and apply several coats to the new cut ply (especially the edges). Install transom and go boating.
There is no reason to make the project over complicated or excessively priced. If you are ok with the transom only lasting 5-50 years do this and make it happen.
 

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