Transom .... Oak? Butternut? Teak?

[Lulworth]

My s-boat project (see http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291348939 for the details) has been limping along due to winter weather and other bits of life's nonsense. One area of progress has been the cold molding of a new transom. The first four layers of 1/8" white cedar have been epoxied and stapled at 45 degree angles to a form. The curve of the form was spiled from the existing transom. Now the question is ... what to use for the final outer layer. Originally, Natanial Herreshoff specified white oak or butternut. The boat originally had white oak and if I were bending the planks in place and attempting a genuine restoration I'd use white oak again but since I've started the coldmold abort*&(... (umm, the upgrade) all bets, it seems to me, are off. So I bought some butternut but finished bright (as a transom should be) it doesn't please my aesthetic eye and niether does white oak. But teak, yes, that's the ticket so long as it doesn't start looking like scandanavian furniture ...

Here's the coldmolded transom (the pattern is behind...) http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/pea88051c607737d82fecda53cdd86e36/fc50b916.jpg

and here is the teak (already sliced to 0.25")
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/p4bfc92571ca9b4802dff10a1926260d1/fc50b914.jpg

So, have at it, right? wrong? indifferent?

[jason stumpf]

i'm surprised to see butternut specified for anything nautical. i've used it for built-in furniture in houses (in fact i'm just finishing up a desk in butternut now), and while its a great wood to work with, its quite soft. not as soft as cedar, but still softer than poplar. the grain is comprable to walnut, hence the vernacular name of "white walnut." i'd have to check the books, but i also havve my doubts about its durability. i'd go with the teak or even mahogony probably.

[Scott Rosen]

That teak looks quarter-sawn. Nice. I'd go with the 1/4" teak. Herreshoff probably specified white oak or butternut because they were locally avaliable at the time.

On the other hand, if you paint the transom, it won't much matter. You could stick with the cedar.

[Paul Scheuer]

I'm partial to mahogany. There's something about the way the grain provides a deep looking finish. Even if you do plan to paint it, put a few coats of clear on it in case you or the next owner change your mind.

[NormMessinger]

Right or wrong, the transoms of Prairie Islander and it's tender are teak veneered. Not, the sturdy 1/4" stuff you have but genuine veneer. You know the stuff, more like 1/64" thick. Painted up hussy, one of my trusted advisors might say. Still I sorta like it. Maybe if I admitted it it would have been better to go with ribbon cut mahogany because all the other bright work on the boats is mahogany and mixing too many colors is not good. That confessed, I vote for your use of the teak. You got it, go for it. It'll be beautiful. Don't even think about paint!

[Lulworth]

Yup, it's quarter sawn teak, probably the only one in the pile at Downs and Reader.

The butternut is a bit of a puzzle but the plans clearly state oak or butternut for the transom. It is true that I haven't seen many (any) sboats that still have butternut transoms so its probably not durable.

I'm not going to be popular here but I think mahogany sucks for use in a transom. Have a look at mahogany (more or less annually varnished) after many (say 5-10) years in the sun. It turns the most disqusting puke yellow color (I know this from experience with the wash boards on a fiberglass boat). The only recourse is a lot of sanding to remove the photo-oxidized wood to return it to something nice.

So, on with the teak.

David.