Why plywood is not used in boats?
civil
Oct 01, 2007
11 Replies
Why is steel not used in cars? Same answer.
Bob M.
I thought it was ... called marine grade plywood.
I once saw a construction project in Popular Mechanics or something for a whole boat made of plywood.
Cheers! Rich
The famous Higgins Boats of WWII were mostly plywood, as were the PT boats and minesweepers. Nowadays, fiberglass is perferred, because it's easy to blow into molds, and doesn't rot.
John
Exactly. "Marine grade" refers to the really-waterproof, better than "exterior" glue used to laminate it. Plywood can't be formed into a compound curve without resort to steam bending, but you can build a lot of useful hull forms with only flats, conic and cylindrical sections. Hell, some of the world's greatest _aircraft_ have been made of laminated wood. Look up the Mosquito light bomber.
Yeah, but airplanes typically don't sit in the water 24/7. ;-)
Cheers! Rich
Ummmm...submitted for your consideration, the Hughes HK-1 (H-4), more informally and lovingly known today as the "Spruce Goose." The hull was/is construced primarily of laminated birch.
Bob M.
As I recall, the Japanese Zero used plywood. Many of them rest in the water eternally, 24/7.
But they're not floating! :-)
Cheers! Rich
Not my problem.
"Just an old plywood boat, Seventy-five Johnson, electric choke"
The OP's obviously not an Alan Jackson fan :-)
"Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference
is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more
durable; the other is a cheaper thing, but the moths get into it."
(Stephen Leacock)
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