Questions here, not answers. Delaminated plywood in sometimes found on our boats, notably early models. Was it marine plywood? Is marine plywood necessary for furniture on sailboats? How able is marine plywood to withstand long submersion?
Boats have been made of marine ply for many years, and none of my plywood hulls has ever delaminated. However, the floorboards of the '84 Ericson 381, long wet by fresh water leakage, fell entirely apart. Were they marine-grade ply to begin with?
Plywood is great stuff. Try finding a flat tree 4x8. Also, they're the stuff of modernity and easy construction. At the old sailing-ship watering port of Perth Amboy, N.J., in the 1960s, was a lovely wooden schooner owned by the Booze family. Her name graced the transom in lovely gold leaf scroll, Maid of Perth. Moored nearby was a jaunty reverse-sheer home-built MORC racer named Maid of Pligh.
Marine plywood is so-called by many manufacturers. The idea is waterproof glue and no voids. But exterior grade also has waterproof glue. And not all marine ply is considered equal. Is it worth the expense and sourcing? Why can't you use exterior ply for boat projects that get wet but then dry off, if you coat with epoxy and varnish? This is why. (I ran out of marine grade, ho ho).
But in fact, some badly delaminated plywood can be restored, veneer and all, if you don't mind going to a lot of trouble. (Link at bottom)
So--are Ericson bulkheads marine plywood? All of them? Should they be? What was the former plywood standard for commercial boatbuilding of sailing yachts, and what is it now?
Boats have been made of marine ply for many years, and none of my plywood hulls has ever delaminated. However, the floorboards of the '84 Ericson 381, long wet by fresh water leakage, fell entirely apart. Were they marine-grade ply to begin with?
Plywood is great stuff. Try finding a flat tree 4x8. Also, they're the stuff of modernity and easy construction. At the old sailing-ship watering port of Perth Amboy, N.J., in the 1960s, was a lovely wooden schooner owned by the Booze family. Her name graced the transom in lovely gold leaf scroll, Maid of Perth. Moored nearby was a jaunty reverse-sheer home-built MORC racer named Maid of Pligh.
Marine plywood is so-called by many manufacturers. The idea is waterproof glue and no voids. But exterior grade also has waterproof glue. And not all marine ply is considered equal. Is it worth the expense and sourcing? Why can't you use exterior ply for boat projects that get wet but then dry off, if you coat with epoxy and varnish? This is why. (I ran out of marine grade, ho ho).
But in fact, some badly delaminated plywood can be restored, veneer and all, if you don't mind going to a lot of trouble. (Link at bottom)
So--are Ericson bulkheads marine plywood? All of them? Should they be? What was the former plywood standard for commercial boatbuilding of sailing yachts, and what is it now?
E381 - "Thelonious II" -- Delaminated floorboards -- 4-minute video
In a classic example of little things that go wrong big, a tiny leak under the head sink caused the delamination of the cabin sole near the head. One of those gray Qest hose fittings had split, invisibly, probably as the result of being...
ericsonyachts.org
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