Transom Thickness

[Hightides Fran]

Hi all,
Just wanted some thoughts on accidentally making the transom of my Penny Fee too thin - 25mm rather than 28mm.
Removing it and starting again is not really an option - it's made of elm and difficult (and very expensive) to source. So how could I reinforce it - do I even need to?


Thanks


Fran  

[Paul H (admin)]

Fran,

How big is your boat?

My 14ft Lynx 14 transom is 12mm ply. There is a 90mm deep strip of 20mm oak glued on for outboards.

It's as solid as a rock.

Cheers
Paul

[Hightides Fran]

Thanks Paul,
It's a 16' sailing dinghy.

[momist]

Speaking as a woodworker, a piece specified as 28mm often turns out with a finished thickness of around 25mm anyway.  I expect that in Elm, this thickness is more than strong enough, other timbers split much more easily than Elm.  If you find that it is too thin for such a thing as your outboard motor clamps, simply pad it out with some additional wood locally, where necessary.

[Timmo]

Elm is going to look beautiful!

And my pennyworth: it will be fine...

Most of the transom is supported each side by the planking. That support will stop it snapping along the grain (across the boat)... the main risk if it's too thin. So the only part really at risk as a result being thinner is the part that stands proud of the sheer where it meets the transom. As others have said, 3mm is only 10% of the thickness and you've chosen a wood that has a strong interlocking grain making it less susceptible to snapping than, say, some mahoganies which can be more open grained. The 28mm originally suggested would probably have made allowance for a less robust choice of timber.

If you do plan to put extra strain on the top of the transom (outboard mount or sculling notch) and are in any doubt about it's strength then just follow Momist's advice and add some doubling up at those points extended down as far as you feel it necessary to provide the reinforcement you want. Will still look elegant.

So back to relaxing and enjoying the build.

Tim.

On 5 Oct 2017, at 13:39, Hightides Fran [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

Hi all,
Just wanted some thoughts on accidentally making the transom of my Penny Fee too thin - 25mm rather than 28mm.
Removing it and starting again is not really an option - it's made of elm and difficult (and very expensive) to source. So how could I reinforce it - do I even need to?


Thanks


Fran  

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