Plinth - Marine ply or teak

[Hunter34]

I need to build a plinth to mount a vertical windlass in the anchor locker (waterproof motor).
According to the instructions it has to be 30-50mm thick.
Is it possible to but marine ply this thick or should I use a piece of solid teak.
Also does anyone know roughly how much marine ply or teak this thickness might be?
The actual size of the piece I need is 600mmx450mm.
Any advice before I get stuck in?

Thanks in advance

Andrew

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[domlee]

I would use marine ply due to the size and intended purpose of the plinth. Use several pieces to build up the required thickness, bond together, cut to shape then seal with epoxy.

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[snowleopard]

whichever way you look at it that's a hell of a slice of ply. anything over 18mm is pretty rare but it shouldn't be hard to get an offcut of 18mm big enough to make 2 layers (bond with epoxy).

ply has to be better than solid which could easily swell and split in a damp locker.

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[ArgoNot]

To successfully laminate ply you will have to sand the surfaces to be joined in order to get a good bond. The process of ply manufacture 'skins' and closes the tubular, cellular structure of the wood at the outer ply faces. These have to be re-opened to allow the glue to penetrate into the cells in order to get a good mechanical bond. A light scuffing will not do but nor does it need to be done with a coarse paper. Use an orbital sander lightly with a medium grit paper over the entire surface, both faces to be joined, then brush off, or better yet, vacuum off the wood flour.

Try it on a couple of small samples, one prepped and the other not. You will probably be able to fail the unprepped joint by hand.

Manufacturers of wooden aircraft used to grit-blast the surface for the same effect.

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[ponapay]

It depends whether

the surface on to which it to be bedded is flat or curved. If flat I would use solid wood, teak or iroko both prepared, drilled and then well sealed before fitting. I have done this and not found any structural problems, and the plinth is now over 34 years in place (has been removed twice in my ownership, and rebedded).

If curved you will have to shape the underside of the material to fit the deck, and do it accurately or you will build in stress to both the deck and the plinth.

With both bed well down with your favourite sealant.

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