23' seacraft

[bigeasy1]

I bought my marine grade fir from a plywood wholesaler,who knows what they are talking about.
I've used them several times on several project boats,and it's top notch stuff.It's regular marine Fir,from an American mill.No oil base glues or coatings.

You can see from my pictures,that there's no voids.

As for drilling holes,i didn't do that,although i can see the reasoning behind it.After doing four other transoms,and having no problems,i did it the same as always.Thickend epoxy,and a flat floor and lots of weight.I should mention,that i always prime both faces with a coat of epoxy resin,and let it kick,before I apply the thickened glue coat.
It seals and primes the wood,and keeps the glue coat from being sucked in to the wood too far leaving too little glue,which would make a weaker bond.
Don't let it cure too long,just till it's cured to the touch,but young enough for the glue coat to chemically bond to it.

You can see the glue joint is solid,and the same thickness throughout.All the excess that i cut off was the same as the picture.


If you are going to use plywood,do yourself a favor,and stay away from Lowe's And Home Depot.I know it's not all of them,but lots of the employees at these stores have no idea of what they're talking about,and their product knowledge is poor at best.
Go to a specialty plywood distributor,or a quality independent lumber yard,who can order it for you from a specialty plywood wholesaler.

A few weeks ago,i went to Lowe's, only because it was sunday.I wanted a sheet of 3/4" AC Fir.Of course i couldn't find it,They had some weird type of plywood with odd grade stamps.
So i ask a clerk in the lumber department,Do you have any AC Fir? His answer was, "No you won't find that anywhere locally".
This idiot had no idea,.I went to a local yard on Monday,and got what i wanted without a problem."Enough said.

[chrisvazquez1]

sounds good. im going to try getting some prices on the xl panels to be delivered to me. im all the way in gainesville,fl so the wood may cost as much considering its comign from ohio. im definately going to keep the douglas fir in mind. if i do decide to use the doug. fir for the transom could i use the pressure treated type or will that not laminate well?

[chrisvazquez1]

called diab products today who are over in texas. they gave me a price on some renicell e 240 which is actually 15 lbs/ft whereas the divinycell h130 is only 8 lbs/ft. its 2" thickness and 4 by 8 sheet for under $400. im not sure if this is correct but it sounds like a good deal. does that sound strong enough for a transom core? im sure the shipping isnt goin to be cheap either though.

[chrisvazquez1]

john123, where did you come across that template for your transom? im thinking up a strategy for converting my transom to a closed style but have figured out how to "arch" the top of the transom. any suggestions?

[1bayouboy]

I can send you a pattern if you like.....I bolted a piece of 3/8" ply to the back of an I/O tsunami and cut it out.

[chrisvazquez1]

that would be awesome!! just let me know what its gonna cost and ill send a money order or personal check whatever you prefer to cover shipping. just give me the address you want it mailed to as well. or i can figure out a carrier whatever works! thanks again, chris

[1bayouboy]

PM me with your address....I can lay out some large paper over the playwood to get the pattern.

[chrisvazquez1]

just ordered my transom wood today!! i ordered 2 x 1" sheets of AB marine plywood.

[chrisvazquez1]

recieved my transom template in the mail today from 1bayouboy!! Just wanted to say big thanks for the help! going to purchase my resin and mat tomorrow so i can begin gluing together my transom. be back in a few days hopefully with some pictures!!

[1bayouboy]

Remember that pattern is the full transom from the back.....you'll have to trim inside it for piece to fit inside the boat.... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]