I am about to built my forth kayak and I've just begun to see that there might be grades of okoume plywood (I'm a slow learner). The prices in and around Rhode Island range from $39 to $88. a sheet for 3 mm. The highest price lumber yard claims theirs is top grade marine. Does anyone know more about this so I can compare apples to apples? The last plywood I got (two years ago) was definitely of an lesser quality than years before but it didn't occur to me that there might be either different grades or different manufacturers. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Somebody just posted to the CLC forum about a plywood called "meranti." They gave this web site for info: http://www.worldpanel.com/ . Go to www.CLCBoats.com and click on the forum, then look for a recent post titled, Help. You might want to also post this question to the Guillemot bulletin board. If you get an answer off-list, will you post the response here on PW? Thanks. Robb *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 09:10 pm 7/03/00 -0500, you wrote: >I am about to built my forth kayak and I've just begun to see that there >might be grades of okoume plywood We know it as Gaboon and I'm not surprised at differing grades. Check whether all the layers are the same thickness, cheaper may have outer layers thinner than centre layer. Meranti as mentioned by another poster is a different timber, usually a bit heavier and there are differing types, red and white. Though okoume is the wood of preference, I've not used it, we built the Mac50 from Meranti and the Mist from Fijian kauri. Gaboon would have made the Mac50 a couple of kilos lighter for another $30 - maybe we should, maybe not..... Alex . . Alex (Sandy) Ferguson Chemistry Department University of Canterbury New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
RE: Okume - There certainly are different grades, and I think there's also some variation of quality within grades. The usually recommended "best grade" is BS 1088, but even within that category, quality can differ significantly. The best okume I've had came from CLC. With the boat I'm currently completing I deliberately ordered a lower grade of ply, and it has worked fine. The differences are that (1) the veneer on the lower grades is a hairline thinner and (2) on the lower grades, there's a "better side" and a side that's not quite as smooth. That "not-so-good" side has a slightly wavy surface, which sometimes isn't even noticeable until you sand the surface. All those differences mean, when building a kayak, is that (1)you have to be a shade more careful when sanding, not to cut through the outer veneer, and that (2)you have to be careful, when cutting out your panels, to put the two **good** sides together, so they'll be the outside of the boat. If you're going to varnish the boat, however, and you have 1/2 of it with the "good" side showing and the other half with the lesser side (as I almost did once) it will make a cosmetic difference. OTOH, despite what what was written in a recent Sae Kayaker article, the lower grade okume will bend every bit as well as the "good stuff". And if you're going to paint the hull, or if you're going to glass the outside, even that little bit about putting the two "good" sides together becomes unimportant. Bill Hansen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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