Not all Marine Plywood is Good for Boats!

Marine plywood

It can be hard to get good marine grade plywood. A good marine plywood is solid with no knot hole defects that have soft spots. What is often sold as marine plywood is CDX or AC rated plywood. It is good plywood for wet areas but it is not what is considered high grade marine plywood and should not be used for boats.

Bruynzeel Okoume Gaboon (Aucoumea klaineana) plywood is rated as BS 1088 and is the best product to be used for boat building and extreme environments. Okoume Gaboon is an African species that is very similar to Mahogany that has a very consistent appearance with a tight grain and is very light.

Douglas Fir marine plywood is very strong, bends well, and is of medium weight. It is the cheapest of options for marine plywood, and the faces may have up to five patches or repairs but no voids. Although the grading term is no longer in use, a BS 6566 grade could be applied to our Douglas Fir plywood. It excels in all things except appearance. The lower BS 6566 grade means that the appearance is not as good as BS 1088 and knots and patches may be apparent, but it still meets the high standards for weather and boil proof (WBP) glue that is key to keep the plies from de-laminating. The early and late growth common with a softwood can leave an uneven surface that will telegraph its inconsistencies through a fiberglass or epoxied surface. This is the plywood to use in the many areas where it will not be seen. The natural weather resistance that is inherent with Douglas Fir makes this an outstanding plywood for marine use.

Check out this link for More Information: Okoume Plywood