I am starting to purchase materials to build this dinghy. I have not been able to locate Okoume marine plywood locally and with shipping costs as they are have been looking for local alternatives. However, there is a local lumber yard that has 1/4 inch Meranti marine plywood 4' X 8' sheets for around $60. Will this be suitable or will it make the dinghy too heavy.
Thanks,
Marcelo
A-30 #441
Atom 6.5 dinghy
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Re: Atom 6.5 dinghy
You can use 1/4 meranti. I don't think the weight difference will be much and you can offset that by using fewer or smaller stiffeners after you glass the panels in place if you notice it is stiff enough as it is. There's no fixed rule about it so use your judgement. If you row the dinghy after it's all glassed up but before you paint it you can see if it is stiff enough everywhere and then add stiffeners where needed. It's best to use marine ply or a ply that has waterproof glue to prevent delamination if you get an undetected crack or pinhole leak anywhere. It may be hard to find or to determine if the glue is waterproof though. You might cut a small sample piece and boil it in water a while and see how easy the glue lets go. Or consider using divinycell foam board as shown here under the heading: Projects - Atom 6.5 Divinycell.