I've never used it, but my guess is the only teak in teak plywood is a very thin surface veneer. What they used for the inner plys has an influence on how well they stand up. Here are three other types of marine ply: http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n165/haudsley/Picture304.jpg Okume on the bottom. Meranti (hydroteck) in the middle and marine fir on top. Notice the size and number of plys. That is 3/4 inch and the two on the bottom have 13 plys and all of it is the same stuff. The fir has footballs and other surface voids, not to mention internal voids. Finished bright, fir doesn't look that hot and will check (surface cracks). Meranti finishes dark, almost like english oak or walnut. These two are mostly structural plywood. Okume looks more like mahogany when finished and would be my choice for hatchboards finished bright. It's also the most expensive, and unless you live in a boating area, you will not find it locally. You will probably have to order it. Next is how thick are your hatchboards? Mine are 3/4 inch solid mahogany. They had a 3/8" rabbet routed into the edge so they drop into the trim boards, which were routed out to match. You could use 3/8" ply for thin boards, use 3/4" and rout the edges or glue two 3/8" together, with the outer 3/8" smaller all around than the inner. Solid mahogany is gorgeous, but the color doesn't hold up in the sun. Mine has nearly 10 coats of varnish on the exterior surface and over time, the sun bleaches them to a light blonde, vs. the nice dark mahogany they started with (and which remains on the inside). That does make a nice cockpit table. West Epoxy is available in most West Marine (no connection) stores, but costs about double what equally effective products cost. For a great product, at a reasonable price and quantity, I'd suggest RAKA: http://www.raka.com/ RAKA and a number of others (like MAS) mix 2:1 that you can pour into mixing cups vs. the pump setup on West, which ends up wasting a lot of product. RAKA finishes clear and when covered with a polyurethane finish is durable. On Jun 20, 2009, at 1:54 PM, Tony Reed wrote:
I have teak plywood hatch board that are absorbing water down the sides and coming apart. I have to replace them but I am not sure what to use. Replacing them with the same material is not a good option since mine are less than a year old. I was just wondering what others are using. Thanks, Tony 08 M17 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
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