Aquatek,hydrotech,has anyone used this?

Just read about this while searching for prices on ockoume,sapele,etc. Sounds great, like it will fit in the huge gap between cheap-and-awful and good but expensive. Can't get prices, the sites I check say "e-mail us for quotes". Sounds very functional, any thoughts? Got some luan yesterday at lowes (this is a 10 1/2' rowboat prototype) and it's not even luan anymore,some chinese wood resembling birch.

 

Is it anything like aquafleck.

 

Aquatech and Hydrotech are both meranti sheets, Hyrdotech being BS 1088 rated and Aquatech has a BS 6566 label. It's available from a number of suppliers. My local supplier is BoatbuilderCentral.com in Vero Beach.

Lauan is meranti, though it comes in a variety of colors and quality. Anything from Lowe's will be very marginal and not particularly well suited for boat building. The lauan sheets from the big box stores will have paper thin outer veneers, with poorly constructed interior veneers. A 1/4" sheet of Lowe's lauan will have outer veneers of 1/32" wood, with the remainder made up in the single internal ply. This leaves you with a sheet that has no real strength, one that will fail easily under load and you can quickly sand right through the paper thin exterior veneer in finishing.

Hull planking is generally the best or some of the best material on a boat, for obvious reasons. It's keeps your socks from getting wet, is this a place you want to cut corners?

 

Never heard of aquafleck. This just sounds like an affordable (midrange?) material, without the drawbacks of fir, pine etc, and the high price of other hardwood marine types. I'm still waiting to hear from anyone who's used it. Or is it just a different name for something that's always been there?

 

Thanks par.

 

I bought several sheets 5mm, 9mm, and 12mm of the cheeper of the two from Allied Veneer in CA. I got an excellent price. They beat the price of others and included freight cost. It was a 40 sheet order.

I like it a lot. Quality plywood. The face veneers when wet out not beautiful however. They are a greenish brown that is too dark. All my surfaces get painted so this is not a problem for me. The 5 mm is not comparable to the 1//4" crap from the home building store. Aquatek/Hydrotek has more plys and a bit heavier.

 

Thanks nero, I'm gonna get some of this next time. Paint is beautiful to me, large flat surfaces look pretentious finished bright. The only reason I use varnish is, I admit, vanity. "Look at my joinery skills". Paint is plywood's friend. 40 sheets, is that for one boat? I use 5 or 6 on mine.

 

yes one boat with two hulls and a deck in between.