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Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
By:Jim Reid
Date: 12/4/1998, 6:18 am
In Response To: 6mm vs 4mm okoume (Ed Cho)

> I finally mustered the courage to start building a CLC Cape Charles but
> I'm faced with an odd problem. Instead of one sheet of 3mm and two sheets
> of 4mm okoume, I ended up with one sheet of 4mm and two sheet of 6mm (long
> story -- their mistake). This being my first crack at boat building, I'm
> inclined to do everything by the book. Hoiwever, I'm itching to get
> started and I'm not looking forward to the hassle of exchanging the
> plywood.

> Is there any reason why I couldn't use what I've got? What would the
> weight difference be? How would this affect the performance of the end
> product? Would I have to change the way the panels are stitched and taped?

> Thanks for any advice.

I built a Cape Charles last year out of 6mm okoume as i aquired the plywood for free. I used 3mm for the deck but 4 mm could easily of been used.There is no question that the boat is considerably heavier than 4 mm but I believe that once in the water there is no difference in performance. I don't know the exact weight but I am able to load and unload the boat off the roof of my car by myself.Due to the extra thickness I did not glass the bottom, the seams were taped with 9mm glass but in retrospec I probably spent too much time trying to fair out the seams, it would of been easier glassing the bottom. The 6 mm was easy to work with and there were no problems associated with bending the wood etc. I would have to say that given the option I would use 4 mm over 6 mm if I was to do it again as there was no advantage to using the 6 mm but I have no regrets on what turned out to be a great touring boat.

Messages In This Thread

6mm vs 4mm okoume
Ed Cho -- 12/3/1998, 1:50 am
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Alex Zimmerman -- 12/8/1998, 11:54 pm
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Willy Dommen -- 12/7/1998, 11:28 am
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Tom Jablonski -- 12/7/1998, 11:51 am
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Willy Dommen -- 12/11/1998, 3:35 pm
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Jim Reid -- 12/4/1998, 6:18 am
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Mike Scarborough -- 12/3/1998, 8:03 am
Re: 6mm vs 4mm okoume
Monte Rhodes -- 12/9/1998, 1:28 pm