Epoxy thickness added to transom

[Wishin I was Fishin]

I am in the midst of replacing the wood in the transom of my alum. bluefin. My question is this. How much thickness will a couple layers of epoxy resin add (no mat, maybe cloth) to the overall thickness of the board. The existing wood was two layers of 3/4" ply. Should I rebuild using the same or will I need to account for the extra thickness of the epoxy? Maybe going with 1 layer of 3/4" and one of 5/8" plus the epoxy?

 

[andy6374]

Re: Epoxy thickness added to transom

The resin waterproofs the wood but adds little strength. You need to use glass with the epoxy for strength.

 

[Wishin I was Fishin]

Re: Epoxy thickness added to transom

I'm not so much worried about the strength as the original did not have glass. I'm using the epoxy for water intrusion issues. But really what I was trying to get figured out was how much thickness does the epoxy and or glass add. the original thickness of the wood portion of transom was 1-1/2". So that being said can I get away with using (2) layers of 3/4" ply "and" epoxy and still get my alum caps to fit?

 

[Wishin I was Fishin]

Re: Epoxy thickness added to transom

Now to add to the dilema of transom thickness. I just cleaned off all the debri left over on the outer skin of the transom. I noticed quite a bit of pitting on the outer skin. The pitting does not go all the way through the aluminum but some spots are pretty deep. Can I just add another layer of aluminum against it for strenght or should I cut out the worst of it and have some new alum. welded in?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Epoxy thickness added to transom

The added thickness shouldn't be a problem, most of my motors have clamps that open to well over 1.5". The only time I worry about being over 1.5" thick is if it's a fiberglass boat and I have to fit the upper cap, splashwell, or deck back down over top.

The epoxy won't add but a few mil to the thickness, and a layer of thin glass cloth won't be much more than a 1/16" of an inch total when dry if you roll it out well and make sure there's no air pockets.

I'd be a little concerned with the glass actually holding water if the seal or coating was broken down the road. I would probably just coat the wood well with epoxy on all sides. I would also drill any holes first, then coat the wood, that way there's less chance of any wood being exposed to the elements.

 

[Wishin I was Fishin]

Re: Epoxy thickness added to transom

I'm trying to add a link to share project so bear with me. I got some pics uploaded just now.
http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectThumbs,p,378,00.html