[U / W HUNTER]

I'm starting my project boat & i'm getting my stuff together :nuts:. I'm redoing the transom & the deck of an 18ft cc. I was told to use exterior ply from Home Depot instead of using marine ply. I thought it was Douglas Fur but I couldn't find it all they had was Birch or Maple. Does it matter as long as its a hard wood ??? It will be encapsulated with epoxy resin, cabosil, microfibers. Also I will be placing an order from US Composites in Florida. I plan on using epoxy resin, 1808 bi-axil.Is there any supply houses closer so I could save money on shipping ? Any & all suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks
E

 

[Mike Hammer]

I don't think you want to use the furniture grade hardwood plywood. I don't know if they use a waterproof glue when they put it together. I used Luan Plywood in my transom, layers of 1808 and plywood and layer it up till you get to the desired thickness. You have to use Epoxy for a good job for sure. It is stout as hell and you only ever have one 1/4" layer of plywood exposed to water should you get a leak and you have a layer of glass in between. I'm doing the same thing for the deck on my 17' mako that I'm doing now.

 

[U / W HUNTER]

I think I read a thread where somebody used like 7 layers of luan with 1808 but I think I read a post from Dunk that said to use Douglas Fur ext ply. I was at HD today & the guy looked at me like I was crazy & pointed me to the only hard wood they had( birch & maple). I just don't want to buy the wrong stuff. I'm still in the tear down stage so it will be awhile before I actually go on my shopping spree

 

[nhanzel]

If you go to a real lumber yard, such as Dubell on Route 73, you will probably find marine plywood. You could always call first to make sure.

 

[Mike Hammer]

I'll have to check out my transom but I think I used 4 or 5 layers of luan with layers of glass between and the 1808 in between adds about 3/16" of glass per layer. I added 2 layers or 1808 over the transom then, that thing is crazy strong much stronger than 2 layers of 3/4" plywood that most guys use. You will use much more epoxy resin and glass but it is stoudt.

 

[U / W HUNTER]

The luan is so smooth is there a special way to prep it so the epoxy soaks into it :huh:

 

[U / W HUNTER]

If you go to a real lumber yard, such as Dubell on Route 73, you will probably find marine plywood. You could always call first to make sure.

I don't plan on using marine ply its too expensive & since I plan on encapsolating the wood anyway, everything I've read say's its an expense that I can avoid, but thanks for the recommendation of a lumberyard :thumbsup:

 

[Mike Hammer]

The luan is so smooth is there a special way to prap it so the epoxy soaks into it :huh:

You will spend much more on epoxy and fiberglass than the same thickness of marine plywood so if you are looking at expense then you don't want to go the luan route. You can use exterior grade plywood and glass.

I replaced the stringers on the boat and I did use 3/4" exterior grade plywood for those and I use a layer of 1808 and 2 layers of 8 lb glass, the originals lasted 30 years with much less glass so I figure if the ones I put in last another 30 I won't be too worried about them when I'm 80 years old.

I bought a roll of 1808 and 8lb random mesh from a guy in Md when I started and he has epoxy resen also but the epoxy was ok but had a longer cure time which was good to make sure it was well soaked into what you were working on but was frustrating because it would take 2 days to be good and hard. It would set-up hard but not fully cured so it was tough to plan my work.

 

[U / W HUNTER]

I don't want to say expense is not an issue but if I can save some $$$ here and there I will. I'm going to raise the deck a few inches so I can put scuppers in, so the left over ply is going to be used on top of the stringers & then glassed in place. If they are getting encapsulated does it really matter what kind of wood it is as long as the epoxy can soak into it

 

[Dunk]

I'm the orignal LUAN guy... I never said to use anything else.. Listen to Mike...he's doing it just like I did.. Get the slowest setting epoxy you can. Luan is bone dry and will soak up epoxy like a sponge.. Marine Ply is just a waste of money when you use epoxy..

 

[U / W HUNTER]

I was not planning on using marine ply but i was planning on using exterior ply. 2 sheets of 3/4 with 1808 on each side & in between, if this is encapsulated won't this be just as strong. Thanks for you reply

 

[Shellback CVA59]

Marine plywood has no voids in the laminations. The plywood you are talking about could have many voids in the interior of the sheet. Bite the bullet and do the luan laminations or go with marine plywood.

 

[roctheboat aka pigpen]

In a word NO. The several layers of luan resin ed together will be much stronger then two layers of three quarter plywood. But that is not to say the two layers of three quarter plywood won't be strong enough for what you are going to do. What are you going to be using the boat for. Which ever way you go I would run the different layers of wood different directions. and at the very least stagger the seams.

 

[U / W HUNTER]

In a word NO. The several layers of luan resin ed together will be much stronger then two layers of three quarter plywood. But that is not to say the two layers of three quarter plywood won't be strong enough for what you are going to do. What are you going to be using the boat for. Which ever way you go I would run the different layers of wood different directions. and at the very least stagger the seams.

I've used this boat for back bay near shore fishing & crabbing, been to the rips several times & out to Brandywine Light several time, also to take the kids tubbing & skiing. The transom is about 6 feet long so there won't be seams, once the 2 pieces set I was planning on cabosiling them onto the old skin, and tab them to the stringers, then beef up the glass on the sides. I thought they would be encapsulated in , and without water pennetration it would be strong :huh:

 

[Greenman]

U / W
Check out classicmako.com
Alot of transome repairs there with pics
Go with luan
Plenty of epoxy
Don't forget to clamp good
Theres a good fiberglass supply house in Barnaget (lighthouse something)
Owner is extremely knowledgable and willing to help
He walked me through it step by step
Can't remember his name

Good luck
Lou

 

[U / W HUNTER]

thanks I will look into it

 

[Dunk]

I've used this boat for back bay near shore fishing & crabbing, been to the rips several times & out to Brandywine Light several time, also to take the kids tubbing & skiing. The transom is about 6 feet long so there won't be seams, once the 2 pieces set I was planning on cabosiling them onto the old skin, and tab them to the stringers, then beef up the glass on the sides. I thought they would be encapsulated in , and without water pennetration it would be strong :huh:

Nothing wrong at all with using two sheets of 3/4" ext ply. If you read the epoxy manual at a http://www.raka.com/manual.html he gets into how to soak plywood with epoxy. Might be a help..

One of the bigger reasons I liked using Luan was being able to bend it to get it in place when I did transoms by just removing the outer glass skin and leaving a 2" lip around the outer edge. If you are doing it from the inside and can just drop the plywood in place then its easy to work with heavier plywood.

 

[U / W HUNTER]

Thanks for the reply Dunk
I plan on cutting out the splash well and about a foot of the cap. So if everything goes the way I plan I will be working from inside of the transom, also raising the transom 5 inches and closing some of the splash well. How wide does the notch have to be, right now the whole back is open, I would like to close in as much as possible.
Thanks for all the replies :thumbsup:

 

[U / W HUNTER]

U / W
Check out classicmako.com
Alot of transome repairs there with pics
Go with luan
Plenty of epoxy
Don't forget to clamp good
Theres a good fiberglass supply house in Barnaget (lighthouse something)
Owner is extremely knowledgable and willing to help
He walked me through it step by step
Can't remember his name

Good luck
Lou

Thanks Greenman :thumbsup:, I looked it up on line, I'm gonna run out there this week and check what they have, I might be able to save on the shipping on somethings, if not I like US Composites selection & prices, but thanks for the reply, the more options the better. Did you use epoxy or vinylester, it seems they had more of a selection of vinylester. I'm using epoxy, but I didn't see any epoxy kits ( like 5 gal epoxy/2.5 gal hardener), but when I run out there, I'll see what he has.