McMaster-Carr Supply Company
http://www.mcmaster.com
- Locations: Atlanta - (404) 346-7000; fax (404)349-9091
- NY/NJ/northeast - (732) 329-3200; fax (732)329-3772
- Chicago/MI/IL - (630) 833-0300; fax (630)834-9427
Warren
18 Feb 2001
Another source for practically any plastic material is:
United States Plastics Corp.
1390 Neubrecht Road
Lima, OH 45801
800-537-9734
800-854-5498 (FAX)
www.usplastic.com
I've found US Plastics Corp has a better selection of structural
shapes in a wider variety of engineering plastics. Their prices are
also usually lower. They also stock a huge selection of plastic tanks,
fittings, valves, pipe & tubing, storage containers, etc. For
general hardware, McMaster Carr is hard to beat.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
19 Feb 2001
"Starboard" is the tradename for a brand of UV stabilized polyethylene
building material, which is manufactured by the King Plastic Co.:
King Plastic
P.O. Box 1475
Venice, FL 34284-1475
941-493-5502
941-497-3274 (FAX)
www.kingplastic.com
Besides "Starboard", King Plastics also offers "Starlite" rigid foam core
building material, which is about 40% lighter than Starboard.
Here are some other suggestions:
"CPG Seaboard" high density polymer sheet
Compression Polymers Group
801 Corey St.
Moosic, PA 19807
717-346-8797
717-346-5080 (FAX)
"Kelron" HD polyethylene sheet
Otron Tech
P.O. Box 40
Stn. Main, 760 Lowe Ave.
Wallaceburg, ON, N8A 4L5 Canada
519-627-7960
519-627-7969 (FAX)
All manner of structural shapes, sheets, rods, etc in a wide variety of
polymers & they will custom cut & sell small pieces directly to individuals:
United States Plastic Corp.
1390 Neubrecht Road
Lima, OH 45801
800-537-9724
800-854-5498 (FAX)
www.usplastic.com
Given the thru-bolted, heavily compression loaded application, I would not
use any of the structural foams. You only gave dimensions of 1.5" X 18" X ?
for the wooden pieces you need to replace. How thick are these wooden
pieces? What do these wooden pieces you are replacing do? Do they move
with the motor mount or are they just "shims"? Assuming they are just
shims, then I would stay away from any of the brittle plastics like
polystyrene or acrylics. Unfilled teflon will tend to creep with time under
compression loading, but glass filled teflon would be OK. PVC & cPVC will
get brittle in the winter. Nylon 6, polypropylene, ABS, UV stabilized
polyethylene (preferably high density or ultra high molecular weight), UV
stabilized polycarbonate, G-10 phenolic, or fiberglass would all probably
work OK in this application. By the way, assuming these are just shims, are
you satisfied with their present thickness? i.e., would you be happier if
the motor were slightly nearer or farther away from the transom? By
tapering the shims, you could also adjust the angle of the motor relative to
the water, thus potentially fixing any motor trim problems you may be
having. Now is the time to think about & change these parameters.
If this is a moving part, then I would use UV stabilized, ultra high
molecular weight polyethylene for its abrasion resistance & self-lubricating
qualities.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
25 Oct 2002
