Plywood for a Diva

[Jeff Horton]

I was sitting in front of the TV yesterday thinking about what we have to do to finish the house. One the biggest things I have left is making and installing the trim (rails and stiles) on the birch paneling I made for the dining room.

Then it hit me. I used cabinet grade birch plywood to make the panels from. The plywood was good quality and I found no voids in it.  Why not use this for the Diva since it's hard to find Okume around here.

Once the hull is glassed it won't be getting wet. The inside will be at least expoxied and most likely I will put 4 oz glass in the cockpit. I can get 1/4" birch at any building supply and I can order 1/8".  The place I am buying my hardwoods from supplies cabinet shops and has a huge selection of plywoods. I imagine they have the 1/8 in stock too.  I could get many different types of veneers for a bright finish on the deck. Cherry, oak, birch, and who knows what else?

I asked about this on the Kayak Forum and found a couple of guys that have built with Birch ply and they said it worked well. It was a bit stiffer and a bit heavier but otherwise it worked well.

So I am giving this serious thought. Assuming I can't find marine grade Okume.

[Jeff Horton]

Scratch that idea. I took a closer look today and realized that this is not really plywood. Very similar to Luan, looks like a sawdust core. The folks that had built with birch were using Baltic Birch plywood. Something totally different!