Plywood grade recommendations

Cdubb2010

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
79
Hi all,

Doing the math on a prospective, pipe dream of a build and I got some questions. First off the build I've been doodling on printer paper is a 40ish foot long sailing scow. The hull is largely based off the vessel in the pic, a replica of a Civil War boat built by the Traditional Small Craft Association, with slight differences in dimensions, while the top side and rigging I've planned are vastly different. 2x10 frames seem to be in order topped with plywood coated in fiberglass. Now my question is when fiberglass is used does the grade of plywood matter so much within reason? Marine grade ply is just so damned expensive, hell $84 for a 4x8 is the best price I can get in corn country. Would a AB or AC grade of plywood be passable with the usage of fiberglass?
 

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DeepBlue2010

Lieutenant
Joined
Aug 19, 2010
Messages
1,304
AraucoPly ACX will work fine. Marine ply as well as Arauco ACX will need to be prepped and sealed well with extra attention to the edges. Best of luck with your project
 

Ned L

Commander
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
2,266
Yep, ACX,... Or quite frankly BCX would even work fine.
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Count me in with agreeing with the others. If you do a good job of glassing it really doesn't matter much EXCEPT...Cheaper Grades of Plywood WILL have some voids in the plys, and this could cause some weak spots in the hull. Marine Grade and The Arucuo brand of plywood that DeepBlue mentioned do not have voids and have more plys in their makeup thus providing a stronger structure.

Something to be cognizant of.
 
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