Re: balsa marine ply??

Posted by Craig Robinson on Aug 21, 2004

Hi Ray, I,m not sure what types you have available over there but here in Queensland, Australia, I could not obtain Okoume which as you pointed out seems to be the norm. The choices that I had were Hoop pine which would have given me a golden honey colored boat with no grain figure, sapel or Pacific Maple (Meranti). I chose the Pacific Maple. Although it is just slightly heavier than the others, it has very a very nice grain and was also the cheapest. The PM is slightly darker than the Okoume boats that I have seen on the net. I was going to paint the hull however I was so happy with this timber that I have given it a bright finish and would recomend it as being easy to use. In comparison, I am also building one out of construction grade plywood as well. It is harder to work but still pulled together easily with cable ties (I will be painting this one). In a nutshell, if it is MARINE GRADE pick out the species that has the nicest grain. You can't lose.

In Response to: balsa marine ply?? by Ray on Aug 20, 2004

Replies:

• Re: balsa marine ply?? by Ray on Aug 21, 2004
  • Re: balsa marine ply?? by Steve Miller on Aug 21, 2004
    • Re: balsa marine ply?? by Craig Robinson on Aug 21, 2004
      • Re: balsa marine ply?? by Ray on Aug 22, 2004