General FAQs - What is the difference between marine plywood species?
- Details
- Written by Marc Shlaes
- Category: Boatbuilding FAQs
- Created: 16 August 2016
- Hits: 444
There are three species of marine plywood that we commonly supply with our products. We typically supply Meranti or Douglas Fir for primary structural components and Okoumé for areas where flexibility is desired.
Our kits typically combine species in order to maximize value. In other words, we use the right wood for the job and that typically works out well from a cost standpoint.
Comparative Properties
| Wood | Strength | Weight | Flexibility | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Fir | High | High | Low | Low |
| Meranti | High | High | Low | Medium |
| Okoumé | Medium | Low | High | High |
Additional Thoughts
Okoumé, as stated above, is more flexible than Meranti. Obviously, flexibility is very important when bending plywood to form the hull sides. The smaller the boat, the tighter the curve and the more important flexibility is as a characteristic. However, we have had customers successfully build our 17 with only Meranti. Our 16 and 17 Redfish Flats boats have even tighter curves though and we would be hesitant to recommend building those with Meranti. When thinking about the weight savings using Okoumé to form the sides of the boat, consider that a cold-molded boat is already considerably lighter than a similar boat constructed of solid fiberglass.