Type of plywood for carbon fiber cover

Hello !

This is my first time building a boat so I'm not very knowledgeable in this matter.

I decided to build a wooden boat that I'll cover with a carbon fiber cloth. So my question is this, since the entire boat will later be covered with carbon fiber, is the type of plywood still important or not ?
I was going for Okoume Plywood but someone told me that since it's going to be covered it doesn't matter which plywood I choose.

Thank you all for sharing your time and opinions.

 

Well, it comes down to goals. If you are spending on carbon; then okume is a sensible choice.

 

Actually I'm not really spending on carbon since I already have it. My goal is to have a very durable, waterproof and light boat since it's going to be sailing for at least 2 months non-stop this summer. For the plywood I actually only have two choices, either regular plywood or okoume plywood (both have a thickness of 5 mm).

 

Light also means okume..

 

Aylan, you know carbon really doesn't make engineering or financial sense when used over wood because of cost (a non-issue here) and durability compared to other possible choices. It only gets done for the "flash" factor; so make sure you finish it bright.

 

Have you ever worked with carbon fiber? It is pretty hard to wet properly. You will have either vacuum bag or infuse it. Otherwise, hand laid, it will likely be heavier than fiberglass.

 

He has the carbon on hand.

Carbon can be hand laid with due care. This means careful wetting of the substrate, followed by careful (even) application of the resin. He should be able to get a 1:1 ratio which is not as good as any vac, but suitable. Another way to reduce the resin content is to overlay (immediately) the carbon with super light woven like 1-4 oz which also offers a layer of abrasion. The woven acts like sponge as long as you don't add resin or much for it.

So much depends on desired outcome which he has not really stated other than building a wood boat iirc.

 

He also stated it is his first time and he is not very knowledgeable. Carbon fiber is a difficult to work material. Even if the carbon fiber is free, it may not be the cheapest solution.
@Aylan. What does the boat designer specify for the boat construction materials?

 

Like any "free" boat!

 

Hello, thanks for your concern. Yes I have already worked with carbon fiber in other projects and I usually vacuum it.

 

Hello, thank you for your help ! It is actually one of the requirements for this project, which is why I have to use it....

 

Hello. Thank you for your advise ! Actually it will be used more like a protective cover for the boat than anything else. The carbon fiber is a requirement of the project so I don't really have a choice.

 

If you say so...

 

cf is not really considered an abrasive cover...

 

Okoume is 30 -40% lighter han meranti so since youre sheathing in carbon and thats were strength is theres prob no better ply than marine bs standard okoume.

Ecept for paulownia for lightness . Im not sure if its marine glued bonded thou.