[johnf]

I have a 14' aluminum boat I'm trying to get ready to sell but the wood on the back where the motor mounts is rotted out. I did some research and found that pressure treated lumber is bad for aluminum so now I'm back to square 1. Anyone know where to get some 3/4" Marine Plywood?

 

[madduck87]

take it to an aluminum welder have them build it up and add a piece of .125 aluminum....last longer for sure

 

[Buck-Ridge]

I agree with Madduck. 3/4 marine plywood is going to cost you about a 100 for 1 sheet. It isn't available many places in the center of the country mostly on the coast. Shipping is as much as the ply or more. I had my transom rebuilt last spring all aluminum plate thicker than original with aluminum square tube in it for the core. It was a little over 200 bucks at current river marine in Doniphan,Mo. I believe I have a better transom now than when the boat was new. It is more rigid and won't ever rot.

 

[nturchi]

I found a sheet on the top rack at home depot or lowes in fayetteville, was 10 years ago tho. I asked the guy to look in the system and he said there's some here just have to find it.

 

[JB Weld]

I built a transom once by gluing up several layers of 3/8" plywood.
I had gotten the plywood off of a jobsite (legally and free).
It had 7 lams in the 3/8" with no voids, and was some very good stuff.
I carefully glued it up with epoxy and clamped it, allowed it to dry, cut to fit, coated all of it with epoxy, and painted od green.
I bolted it in with SS bolts (sealed with marine sealant), and I bet that sucker is still there to this day!
The one negative was the it was HEAVY! I think it was right at 1.5" thick, and it did not have any flex.

The aluminum way listed above would probably be the best, but if that is not possible for you, keep looking for some good wood.
If you can find you some high quality plywood at a reasonable cost, you can build one that will last.

 

[johnf]

What about Cedar or Cyprus?

 

[JB Weld]

While both of those have natural water resistance, they are not really a "strong" wood (with a bunch of interlocking grain like oak or hickory).
If you used just one thick piece of any type of wood, there would be a chance of it shearing along the grain and breaking.

Here is a place in NLR that looks to sell Marine Plywood. Give them a call. Here is a link: http://www.cedarcreek.com/plywood-pine-little-rock

 

[thomasw_lrd]

I would just get regular plywood and coat I epoxy. Just built a canoe like that. It seems to be holding up well. We'll see at the end of the summer though.

 

[Delbert]

Call Lowes HD, or the local lumber yard and ask. I got a pice through a local hardware stores a couple years ago at the retail price, they just had to order it. No shipping I did have to wait a few weeks for it to come in.

 

[Wes Ramsey]

Art's Marine in LR used to carry some. Probably still do, but it has been a few years since I checked. Think they sold it by the 1/2 sheet. Everything at Art's is expensive though...

 

[rabbithunter]

Built front deck in a boat out of advantec has held up well for lot of years. prob, better than marine plywood. $30 sheet.

 

[flintknapper]

I ordered a couple of sheets of Marine grade from Lowes about 20 years ago, took a spell but they got it. The main thing about marine plywood has no internal voids and has really good glue (read $$). If you can get sufficient strength from standard exterior grade plywood and coat it with epoxy or polyester resin, it should last quite a while.

I like the idea of building it up with aluminum better.

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

I used regular plywood, glued together and coated in 4 or 5 coats of spar polyurethane. It still looks great.

 

[pshelton10]

Kaufman lumber in LR keeps it in stock. I just bought some for a commercial job last week and they had two more full bundles. It cost about $63 a sheet for 3/4".

 

[twiceborn]

Plywood, coated with either spar polyurethane or fiber glassed would probably work.