Arauco ply?

New to the hobby and looking at some local 1/2" ply that is AC ply Arauco. Any input? I will be building a Jon boat. Mostly looking for a good father/son project and a fishing boat for him to use.

 

Make sure that the glue used in the plywood is exterior/waterproof. The Arauco ply at my local Home Depots and Lowe's is not, but I have heard that some of this material is. If it's not, the plywood will probably delaminate and fall apart when (not if) it gets wet no matter how well you seal it with epoxy and paint. I have aslo read on other forums that the wood used in it has very little rot resistance - but then Okume has low rot resistance. Anyone have any comparative data on this?

 

Radiata pine is the species used in that sheet. It's phenol-formaldehyde glue is WBP (Water Boil Proof) and typical of an exterior panel. The wood is more commonly known as Monterey Pine in this country, Candia & Europe and Radiata in the western rim countries and the southern hemisphere. New Zealand and Australia have lots of it.

It's a fast growing, moderately rot resistant tree, often thought of as a nuisance. It has a pretty light color and finishes well and carries a PS 1-95 standard which means it has rot resistant interior veneers (also likely Radiata) and construction grade repair and void benchmarks, plus a minium ply count.

I would use it on interior furnishings (thwarts, cabinets, berths, countertops, bulkheads, etc.) but reserve the marine grade stuff for the planking. Planking material is generally the best stuff on the boat, for understandable reasons.

On a cheaply constructed skiff or similar craft, where a painted finish and some wear and tear will be expected, AC grades can work fine. Marine will last longer, epoxy coated longer still, epoxy/cloth sheathed even longer. The durability of the boat is directly related to the quality of the planking material used. Arauco ply is a low priced, construction grade sheet. It's material choices and panel assembly reflect this. It works great on soffits too.

 

Arauco ply

Bumping this thread from 07...thanks Par for the information on the Arauco plywood. I looked at some recently and it appears to be 'well made'. Here is link to a picture and description from the company.

http://www.arauco.cl/araucoplyusa/informacion.asp?idq=1816

Just wondering if any members have used this in boats since the time of the 07 posting.

Much appreciated
Gordon

 

I used Arauco ply on all of the interior parts on my Silverton Restoration. This includes inside sole, bulkheads/partitions v-berth and reinforcements. Coated all 6 sides with 3 coats of epoxy I see no problem with this product. I've posted a number of photos that you find in the wooden boat building section.

Picked it up at Lowes, although not all Lowes stock the product. An inexpensive alternative to marine ply. It's also easier to finish than douglas fir though about the same as okume or meranti.

I 've also built bird houses out of it and they have been outside all summer for the past three or four years. I varnished the birdhouses. They have held up well.

MIA

 

Thanks Missinginaction for the information. Interesting, your restoration thread is right below this one..I'll give it a good read!

 

You can build a strong jon boat with 1/4" marine plywood and save a lot of weight. Fiberglass overall and tape the seams. 1/2" is also harder to bend into shape.