The term Marine Grade Plywood isn’t quite as precise as you might think. As we discussed in Part 1, when you request Marine Grade Ply, you should expect your lumber supplier to ask you a few questions about your intended application and exactly what you’re looking for.
Depending on the intended end use, the kind of Marine Grade Plywood you require will vary quite a bit. If you’re in the boat building industry, the wrong product could end up leading to premature rotting or delamination. If you’re building an external structure, you could easily end up getting plywood that’s much more expensive than what you really need.
What Kind of Marine Grade Plywood Do You Need?
Depending on where the structure will be located, your exterior plywood can be subjected to plenty of punishment from Mother Nature. However, the level of water resistance required may not be quite as significant, because your Marine Grade Plywood will probably be used as a substrate. If that’s the case, you’re in a good place to save some money on the Marine Grade Plywood you purchase.
Examining a Few Varieties of Marine Grade Plywood
Here at J. Gibson McIlvain Lumber, we’re pretty discriminating about the lumber that we sell; in fact, we’re known to be border-line obsessive about quality control around here. So when it comes to Marine Grade Plywood, you can expect that the stuff we carry is the best of the best. We proudly sell Marine Grade Plywood from Bruynzeel, a company which we’ve found to offer the finest and most customizable panel possible. With both their Okoume or Sapele panels, they offer the potential of customization for face veneers.
Bruynzeel Marine Grade Plywood starts with a solid core that will ensure stability in any condition; they also offer options of either lightweight species or a denser, stain grade option. Other customization opportunities include various thicknesses for face veneers and orientation (such as center matched).
Okoume is an interesting species. While it’s soft, it is great as a substrate for harder materials; because of its homogenous, defect-free surface, it’s ideal for use with Marine Grade Plywood. Bruynzeel’s Okoume panels are referred to as Hechthout. For applications where hardness is important, rotary cut Sapele is used, offering an exceptionally dense, hard surface; Bruynzeel refers to these panels as Super Hechthout.
Both Hechthout and Super Hechthout panels from Bruynzeel are free from any patches or seams and carry a BS1088 rating along with Lloyds registration. Add in a veneer of your choice, and these panels can meet just about any need you have for Marine Grade Plywood. Their modular approach allows us to work with them to create a custom panel that will suit your Marine Grade Plywood needs.
