TOPIC: Whats the best wood to use in transom

First off this is my first boat and first rebuild. SO THIS IS ALL NEW.

The boat I have has a grove that will almost hold a 2" thick board. The last owner made 2x4s work in it. Was thinking about 2x8s or a 2x12. Or should I laminate some marine plywood. I was also told to soke the boards in motor oil or linseed oil. Is this a good idea?

Looking at putting dual 35 to 50 hp or single up to 85 hp motors on this boat. Thanks for the help.

2 x anything would be the last thing to use in a transom one layer thick. 1 x, properly spaced and multiple layers will work. I've done a mess of wood boat transoms like that using 5/4 mahogany.

Plywood is the right thing in a glass boat. If you need a 1.5" transom, use two pieces of 3/4" glued together with MAT and resin. If you really need a 2" thick, use 4 pieces of 1/2" glued with MAT. Then you can hang a Hemi on it.

And soaking the wood in motor or linseed oil? No. Not with a glass boat. Bond the pieces together with resin and MAT. If you use oils, you'll get no bond with the resin.

is this an aluminum boat or 'glass?

There was a good little book published some years ago called Runabout Renovation. It was full of good information about fixing junker boats up. you can probably pick up a copy online for cheap.

Marine plywood isn't required but you should try to use void-free exterior grade Fir. I prefer to use MDO (medium density overlay) plywood. This is what sign shops use on exterior plywood signs. It's very good quality, almost no voids, Douglas Fir, phenolic resin glue and covered with phenolic paper on one, or both sides. I've had very good luck wih it. It isn't cheap, but not as bad as marine.

Aluminum 1965 approx. Texas Maid Electra. 3 portholes. If this is the pirate boat-I looked at it a couple of months ago. Laminate the plywood with mat. I used MDO on my 16' Fiesta. I don`t have to replace the transom on my 15' Impala 1965 YET.
MDO=Medium Density Overlay. You know, the real estate sales signs that last 10 years out in the elements.
Be sure to make the transom the right thickness including the rear sheet and front sheet of aluminum on the transom.

crosbyboat wrote:

2 x anything would be the last thing to use in a transom one layer thick. 1 x, properly spaced and multiple layers will work. I've done a mess of wood boat transoms like that using 5/4 mahogany.

Plywood is the right thing in a glass boat. If you need a 1.5" transom, use two pieces of 3/4" glued together with MAT and resin. If you really need a 2" thick, use 4 pieces of 1/2" glued with MAT. Then you can hang a Hemi on it.

And soaking the wood in motor or linseed oil? No. Not with a glass boat. Bond the pieces together with resin and MAT. If you use oils, you'll get no bond with the resin.

This is great info.

Two layers of 3/4" BC or better grade plywood, sandwiched together with mat and resin will last a LONG time and will be plenty strong for most motors. Anything more is totally overkill for the motors your talking about. Cut your pieces to fit, slather in resin, put down a layer of mat, add more resin and clamp them together to dry overnight. The excess resin will squeeze out when you clamp it. Having several deep throat C clamps will make your job much easier.

DO NOT soak the wood in anything...the resin will provide plenty of protection from moisture and adding oil to the mix will cause bonding problems.

I’m going to agree with Bruce. Doing some research is definitely key in a good final product. What you didn’t know is always a killer in the end!!! I have never owned a boat in my life. I’m totally redoing my 1960 Sea King runabout that was somewhat of a impulse buy. I know carpentry, auto body, auto service, ect. So yea I have some skills to do the work… I had little to no knowledge of what not to do & materials to use. I read the runabout restoration. It is a good book over all, a little light on in depth info. I would say it’s a good power point version on how to do things in general. Pick it up, it will be a big help along with the people here. Reading posts & researching here has made all the difference in the work I have done.

Thanks for all the help guys. The boat is aluminum yes. And Iam looking for that book right now!!! Thanks again for all the help!!