what wood to use???? do i really need marine grade????

[Sean H]

Originally Posted by glassdave

poly is fine or even vinylester for your project, again its a cost thing. Sure epoxy is going to be better/stronger but is it a benefit you will utilize? You will have longer working times with epoxy and wet out is a different process than poly and can even make the process easier if staged properly. My biggest gripe with using epoxy in the bilge of your average boat is finishing it off. With poly its as simple as dump gunning gel on and tipping the finish. Epoxied fiberglass takes a bit more elbow grease to get a good finish. Margin call but for me i prefer poly or vinyl unless its something i am really looking for ultimate strength.


Sean you have any info on Microlam? whos using it in boats? Sounds interesting.

i believe some of the 24/7 boats used lvl's for stringers, i am sure others have... its just a prelaminated veneer beam... saves ya a step or two.

i know of one builder who uses okume and mahogany in the transom and engine stringers and then airex and herex everywhere else (with epoxy)... you know, if you want to step it up a notch or two.

[regalman4925]

i agree with that one, the 2 are made to work together

[regalman4925]

i got about 1/3 of the transom tore out last night, thias involved me wacking the crap out of and splitting open my thumb and one broken masonry chessel, its coming along though. i am not sure if i need to remove teh filler on the back or not?

[c_deezy]

Have fun. I cut mine into about 5x5 inch squares and chipped it out. There was a layer of mat between the layers of ply that if I got the chisel under that, it would pop the layer on top of it out pretty easy. I used regular wood chisels and tore up about 6 of them on the staples Baja used to hold the different layers together . Take your time and work slow it will come out. I also ground out all of the bedding filler. Im my case it was about 3/8 inch thick in the middle of the transom!!! Then I laid about 6 layers of biax in to both thicken the outside skin and bring the middle portion up to the same thickness of the sides/bottom of the transom where the overlap from the glass when they layed up the sides/bottom over the coring. The middle section of my transom originally was only about an 1/8 inch thick once the filler was gone, at most I would say 2-3 layers of glass.

[regalman4925]

well thanks to the wonderful midwest weather this weekend i am stuck indoors but i am doing my needed research! i am still not sure which plywood to get! i read allot of people have used the pine cdx and i am thinking about getting a piece and throwing some resin on it to see how well it sticks. with this economy and my second kid due june 14th i need to keep the cost as low as possible so the cheaper the better but at the same time i dont want to do this again, the boat is 20 years old and in another 10 i am guessing it will be so old that it will not hold much value so if i build it the way the factory did and get 20 more years out of it then i dont see how i can go wrong using the same materials they did. at this point i need 2 sheets of 3/4 and 1 sheet of 1/2 for the transom, 3 maybe 4 sheets of 3/4 for the floors, 3 sheets of 3/4 for the sundeck and back seat and then 2 sheets of 1/2" for the side panels of the boat, can you see how fast marine grade can add up? thats 8 sheets of 3/4 at 80 a sheet thats around 650 bucks right there! glassdave i could sure use a little more input if possible, i would sure appreciate it!

[c_deezy]

See if you can find something called arauco plywood in your area, at least I think that's how it was spelled I'll have to find the receipt. I bought some of my wood today, despite what I said previously I paid up for two sheets of marine grade doug fir for the transom, and then I bought three sheets of the arauco for the initial bulkhead/stringer replacement. The marine grade was $87 a sheet, the arauco $37. After talking to the guy at the shop that's what I wound up with. I'll take some pics tomorrow so you can see the difference between the two (not much).

You could probably use cardboard and as long as you sealed it up good it would be fine, it all goes into the prep and finishing. Seal it up good and it will last forever.

[stevekyp]

Home depo sells 11ply for 54.00.
im gona use it to do my 34 scarab
gona do transom and stringers and bulkheads
this plywood is not the cheapest but it is super strong!!!!!!
the more plys the stronger it is!!!
it is sanded on both sides.
Take my advice,i use this stuff in many construction projects.
the 5 ply plywood would work fine for 25.00 but if you want a real strong transom,use 11ply birch or oak!
the birch or oak is only the outer veneers,but the inside veneers are other types of wood like douglas fir.
good luck with your project
im in the same boat!! lol

[regalman4925]

wow, 11 ply? that stuff has to be really thin plys! lol i dont think i need super strong on this boat, if i were going for crazy power i would say that would be a good option. allot of people are telling my strait good old decent quality plywood is going to be just fine and the stuff i took out was normal 5 ply and it was original. if i can get by with this option it means i can get my boat together allot faster.

[stevekyp]

Yes you can get by with the 5 ply.
Just make sure you soak the new ply with at least 3 coats of resin!
Can you post pics of your project?

[stevekyp]

here is my boat.
gona do it all