What size Starboard?

[Bad Obsession]

I have to replace something that a P/O did to my boat. There is a piece of exterior grade plywood that is on an exterior bulkhead. He did this to cover instrument holes from instruments that no longer exist. The damn thing is leaking now and causing a mess in the cabin.

I will probably just replace the plywood with starboard. What thickness starboard should I use?

I am thinking that the piece of wood that is on there is 5" by 8" but I need to measure to be sure. Mainly I am concerned with thickness.

 

[Roland5048]

I don't think the thickness matters as much as how well it is sealed. Do you have pics?

 

[Bad Obsession]

I don't have pics. I do mount my GPS on the board and it has a depth finder attached to it.

 

[centerline]

Agree that thickness does not matter as much as the quality of the seal, but to insure the seal says sealed tou need to minimize any flexing..... i would go with 3/8".... beveled or rounded edges and flame polished....

 

[Benny17441]

I think rather than thickness what you are looking for is stiffness so that it holds your GPS mount and depth meter without flexing.

 

[Bad Obsession]

The dimensions of the cover are 5.5"x10.5" and it is .5" plywood.

I am thinking about putting a RAM ball mount on the bulkhead for the GPS so I can remove it when not in use. I am still thinking about the end result. We shall see.

 

[Jim 5757]

We had a similar situation on the Merry Bee. I used 1/2" starboard milled a 1/4" groove on the back side so it's outside the hole in the bulkhead. Placed a bead of butyl tape in the groove & screwed the plate onto the bulkhead. 4 years now and no problems.

 

[kito]

Agree that thickness does not matter as much as the quality of the seal, but to insure the seal says sealed tou need to minimize any flexing..... i would go with 3/8".... beveled or rounded edges and flame polished....

Hey Centerline, I just wanted to thank you for the flame polishing tip you gave. I cut some black Starboard today and was wondering how I could get rid of the dullness on the cut and sanded ends. My torch did the trick!

 

[centerline]

Hey Centerline, I just wanted to thank you for the flame polishing tip you gave. I cut some black Starboard today and was wondering how I could get rid of the dullness on the cut and sanded ends. My torch did the trick!

such a simple trick that people overlook... sand it a little first to minimize the saw marks and then polish away.... mapp gas seems to work better than propane because its hotter and will heat the very surface for a better polish, whereas propane flame is cooler and as the surface comes to temp it can go too deep and cause it to bubble a bit at the surface....

 

[HMT2]

I did something similar. I had an old six inch speaker that had quit working long before I got the boat that was installed in the cockpit facing the helm. I finally took it out and replaced it with half inch starboard. I originally tried 1/4 and found it too flexy. I am now using the starboard for mounting a low raw water flow alarm and can put other gauges etc. there. I vote for 1/2 inch based on my experience. That and $5.00 will buy you a Starbucks coffee!

 

[kito]

such a simple trick that people overlook... sand it a little first to minimize the saw marks and then polish away.... mapp gas seems to work better than propane because its hotter and will heat the very surface for a better polish, whereas propane flame is cooler and as the surface comes to temp it can go too deep and cause it to bubble a bit at the surface....

I actually took my MAPP tank off and used propane. I will use the MAPP next time. Thanks again.