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Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on November 22, 2010 at 7:20am

Jerry: Have not seen it but look for 5 plies. If it has 3 or 4 I would not use it. I just got some "Patriot Ply" from Lowes to use for pattern stock for laying out planking for a glued lapstrake. Strange looking stuff- after calling the MFG was told it to be plantation grown eucaliptus- from Australia and milled in the far east. A sample survived a week in my dishwasher so the glue must be OK. Outer plys are paper thin. Have not found any internal voids in cutting 5 patterns- but I still would not use it for a boat. Check the sheets for voids on the edges. Call the MFG and find out what species the stuff is. Eucaliptus grows like grass and has very little rot resistance. Let us know if you find anything out about the stuff.
Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by eric stevens on November 22, 2010 at 9:10am

i used it on my first build i did. The arauco is probably your best bet if you are not going to use marine ply. It does have voids in the center so it might crack when you bend it. I cracked one when i did mine and had to start that pannel over. If you can find marine ply i would fork out the extra 300$, that is a small price to pay to get a way better boat.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on November 22, 2010 at 1:41pm

Jerry: if it has voids I would not use it. Too much time and work to end up with rot spots in the middle of the boat. But then again if you want to try it, the stuff might work out. IF you use it anytime a void is exposed try to slice off a very thin "shim" on the table saw and glue it into the void as best you can. Have done this on a "cheapie" small skiff( and the thing still works after 10 years)
Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C. on November 22, 2010 at 5:58pm

I used a couple sheets of this on last restore on the interior floor and would not use it again.Not worth the few dollars saved,it will come back to bite you in the end...

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