Gerr Could be wrong this one time.

I always have the idea that one can design and make any item from composites and save the maintenance later. The only advantage wood or plywood have is it comes in a usable form already which gets modified to fit the app.

On one of my early good old days boats I had some rotten wood problems, I replaced it with composites (including deck) and as far as I know it is maintenance free to this day. And that is a few hundred years already

Everything is work, even going on holiday is work, so...

 

wood is a low cost material, generally non toxic, worked with simple hand tools, is attractive and pleasant to work with as compared to composites. If kept dry and out of the sun will last a long time. And is easy to field repair.

It will break down in sun and moisture, so does take a lot of maintenace when kept out doors in the weather.

But composites do not last forever, what happens is they are low maintenance up to a point, and than after that, it starts chemically unraveling and not really repairable. The chemical bonds start breaking down at the molecular level, and it decomposes. Some last longer than others, and sunlight will speed that process, but once its useful life is over, it is ready for the land fill. Synthetic adhesives such as epoxy, and polyester or polyurethane, are chemically unstable in the long run, you will likely never see any antique composite boats in the future, like we see with a lot of wood or even steel vessels.

If kept dry and pest free, lumber actually gets stronger as it ages.