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Okoume Joubert or Meranti plywood for new boat interior?


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From what I can ascertain via goggle, Meranti 20% heavier and less bendy, and Okoume Joubert lighter, more expensive....but always good to get a Kiwi take on it...

So I am thinking Meranti for bulkheads and structural floors, Okoume for settee berths, cabinetry / lockers...

Is my thinking sound?

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I'm picking that the total amount of material is not enough to make either weight or price material overall.

I'd use just one so you can match the tone throughout.  If you are painting, just choose the best grade (no voids, no fill).

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9 hours ago, aardvarkash10 said:

I'm picking that the total amount of material is not enough to make either weight or price material overall.

I'd use just one so you can match the tone throughout.  If you are painting, just choose the best grade (no voids, no fill).

Thanks Aard,

Mix of painting and varnish...though that is another question...clearcoat or varnish for an interior?  any opinions? Or it don't matter - whatever you feel looks best?
All this is new to me - if I ask "WTF"? technical questions over time, be aware I am coming from a background of sitting at my desk on me ar$e 9-5, never done a trade and little DiIY...but I can no longer afford to pay people to do up the boats I buy, so I got me a deep learning curve.

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I have used meranti and okoume on dinghy builds. I understand the meranti is stronger, but the stuff I used had quite a rough grain/less smooth face than the okoume.  It is quite a bit heavier too. but of course, cheaper! Im a bit of a weight nazi on boats, so Id use Okoume, for weight, and nicer finish

I have the opposite problem of you, my boat has NO wood and and I want to keep it that way. so foam, glass, carbon, and white paint for me...

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34 minutes ago, Clipper said:

I have used meranti and okoume on dinghy builds. I understand the meranti is stronger, but the stuff I used had quite a rough grain/less smooth face than the okoume.  It is quite a bit heavier too. but of course, cheaper! Im a bit of a weight nazi on boats, so Id use Okoume, for weight, and nicer finish

I have the opposite problem of you, my boat has NO wood and and I want to keep it that way. so foam, glass, carbon, and white paint for me...

Heh, yeah…I contemplated similar, but as I intend to eventually liveaboard some wood eye candy down below sort of soothing to the eye.., but on deck I will not be bothered to varnish anything methinks…

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Okoume (Gaboon) is quite a bit lighter and will soak up far less resin than Meranti when you are sealing it, though be careful there are varying qualities on the market here -some are all muck core with thin veneers -though if its Joubert brand should be alright. I would underline LE 's comments above and agree entirely.

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look for even plys and plenty of them, Joubert Gaboon is reliable and dont worry about price as its not a giant Spencer! Dont be afraid to go though the pile and pick out the pretty faces. Just make sure you coat the end grain with a couple of good coats of epoxy, in the interior varnish on the faces is fine, no need to epoxy the lot unless you really want to. the only there caveat is any potential water traps absolutely need to be epoxied. Some people roll a few coats of epoxy on the whole sheet before cutting, uses a bit more but much easier to finish on the flat and less tearout

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4 hours ago, LE Bb said:

Our 3 go to's are okoume, yellow cedar, and iroko.

 

When you say structural floors can you give and example, not a place for ply in my mind.

What I mean is bulkheads in the bilge to support the keel because i have removed the integral water tank.., my understanding is the correct boatbuilding terminology for these is “floors”?

Below is s photo showing how looks now with integral water tanks removed.

 

image.thumb.jpeg.5fd8a2294cb899d44deaac17bba4d1c8.jpeg

 

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Wasn't much holding them in.

Whats your intentions with the yacht? eg coastal or offshore

What were the original floors made from ? hard to tell scale but looked about 40mm thick

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9 minutes ago, LE Bb said:

Wasn't much holding them in.

Whats your intentions with the yacht? eg coastal or offshore

What were the original floors made from ? hard to tell scale but looked about 40mm thick

Hi Le , offshore
No floors - purely the integral tank only in that area

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1 hour ago, Black Panther said:

Angela has cooked a Thanksgiving turkey and fed 16 people at that table.

Hah, 16 - amateur! 

Total stocktake was 32. Floating a bit low though.

And also on topic too, back beam is 600 x 120mm gaboon ply box beam and a bit of carbon.

Screenshot 2023-05-16 at 9.29.43 PM.png

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44 minutes ago, vb1 said:

Hah, 16 - amateur! 

Total stocktake was 32. Floating a bit low though.

And also on topic too, back beam is 600 x 120mm gaboon ply box beam and a bit of carbon.

Screenshot 2023-05-16 at 9.29.43 PM.png

I think I'm  in that picture. But I'll still claim the win as we all sat at the table.

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