: Doesn't look anything like what I bought - the cheap $10/sheet stuff at the
: local lumber yard.

: How does the price of the Meranti compare to Okume? Remember, the point of
: the original post was to save money. Just wondering if Meranti will meet
: that goal.

Hi Ken,

The stuff we bought was $25 per sheet. Meranti is luan. There are several varieties - dark red, light red, yellow, white. It is all in the genus Shorea. We bought 4mm BS 1088 marine grade, mainly because our supplier had about a 6 month delay on Okoume, but could get the Meranti right away, plus we saved about $10 to $12 per sheet. Maybe we were just lucky to get a pallet that had mostly nice medium brown grain in some really interesting patterns(about 1/4 of the pallet is blah light tan, we will use it on painted hulls). Admittedly, it is a bit harder, stiffer, and can make some nasty splinters if one is not careful. A sheet weighs about 1 to 2 pounds more than Okoume, but being harder, it soaks up less epoxy, so finished boat weight is about the same. It does seem to be porous enough to give a good epoxy bond, though.

Anyhow, I think at least some folks get nice looking cheap luan if they hit the right store and dig through the piles. If you lived in the neighborhood,(nobody lives in our neighborhood) I would say stop by and pick up a few sheets.

Grant