OK guys,

I cannot find Doug Fir locally but do have Meranti and Okume within half days drive (SLC).  I am planning to build a Baker 17x54 from plans.  I want to use oil inside and out.  I plan to add a 1/4" shoe layer over the 3/8" hull, both without glass and epoxy, just oil.  Think old school.

Should I use Okume or Meranti?  

Am I crazy?  Will it work?

You won't hurt my feelings...all thoughts/comments are appreciated.

Best,

Brent

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Fir is the cheapest plywood (cost wise) and has its own issues. Bugs will attack fir, but I used clear fir for my frames. Its pretty too, light in color, easy to work with. I really wanted mahogany plywood but couldnt get it, I had to use Okume (priced almost dbl of mahog.) as its all I could get. Its a very light wood, often used in wooden race boats. It is prone  to rot if its not sealed good. I used lot of epoxy and glassed my outside. I`m sure it will outlast me, and it does have nice grain and rich color. For what you want to do, I would use the other, and I cant comment on that. (this has glass on it with epoxy, no final finish yet). You might also consider where and how the boat is used. I`m in Michigan with much milder rivers than out west.

Okoume has beautiful veneers, but it's really expensive and the grain of the interior ply is really short, upon impact it explodes into a billion tiny pieces. 

The Okume was priced around $90 a sheet (4x8) but I did get it for the price of the mahagony, around $60 or so a sheet since they were out of what I wanted. I found zero voids cutting it up and really, I`m not worried at all about it exploding if I hit something. I took a sledge hammer to a pc after reading this, its pretty darn tough. :)

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