Why not oak?

[hemidoc]

This may sound stupid but is there a good reason not to use oak on a boat?
I Have a sheet of very nice 3/4" oak plywood in my garage that I was thinking of useing to replace my engine cover that blew off and got ran over by many vehicles on 285.
I would poly the crap out of it
thnks

 

[Don S]

Re: Why not oak?

Oak plywood is not OAK all the way through. It has a very thin veneer (usually around .010 thick) that is the visable surface. Takes nothing to sand thru. The rest of the plywood is USUALLY a cabinet grade interior plywood.

NOT good for engine covers in a boat.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Why not oak?

Oak, even solid oak is not for outside use. it will not stand up to the sun, and water. it will split, warp etc. this is the voice of experience. love the finish oak. expensive mistake.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Why not oak?

One other thing... white oak is actually incompatible with some types of epoxy on the molecular level. It won't bond. Kinda crazy actually.

If you're not using a type of oak that will rot, and you're not gluing the boat together (you're using pegs or bolts like the old sailing ships) then oak is very strong.

Personally I will probably get some pieces of mahogany (cheaper than teak) for some boat parts, brightwork mostly.

Oak plywood is generally ok for structural stuff provided it's exterior glued and epoxy compatible.. the first one usually isn't true for furniture ply.

Erik

PS: I've found a nice high grade ACX ply for my next project. Not as good as marine, but 1/4 the price, and almost void free.