Plywood or Dimensional Lumber for Transom

[North Beach]

So I'm about to begin replacing the transom on my 21' Starcraft Center Console. The subject has come up as to whether we should replace the plywood transom with solid mahogony, or more specifically sapeli, a mahogony look alike. We have a peice here that's large enough.

Should I be concerned that the dimensional lumber may not be as strong as the plywood? The stuff is pretty danged tough. Share your thoughts please. I only want to do this one time.

 

[sprintst]

Re: Plywood or Dimensional Lumber for Transom

Is the sapeli multiple ply or a solid core piece. I checked on my rear cap support that was a solid piece and it was cracked. I switched it over to plywood as the multiple layers will be near impossible to crack or rot coated in epoxy.

I've seen plywood bow like crazy under load but not outright crack. A solid piece of wood on the other hand might be less susceptible to water impregnation due to the closed grain but I'd have to look that up.

 

[86RajunCajun]

Re: Plywood or Dimensional Lumber for Transom

Same as everyone else whos had good results...plywood under glass.

Good luck!
RC