This is the same marine plywood decking used by new pontoon boat builders. CCA treated and designed for the rigorous marine environment. If you are planning to redeck your pontoon boat with 3/4" (in) plywood, this is the correct type of marine plywood you should use!
Most
other standard types of plywood are treated with a copper compound that
will interact with the latex rubber backing of your marine carpet and
destroy it over time. This marine plywood is treated using Chromated
Copper Arsenate (CCA) which is a chemical wood preservative containing
chromium, copper and arsenic. CCA is used in pressure treated wood to
protect it from rotting due to insects and microbial agents.
Additional Information About Our Marine Plywood
Treated wood products are readily available and are often in used construction where high decay hazards exist. Unfortunately, much of the treated plywood found in retail lumber yards may not have been redried to the degree required for boat construction. For the best performance of plywood in boat manufacturing first make sure that the plywood comes from a mill that is a member of APA.
Stamped onto each sheet of our plywood is the APA trademark. The APA, or Engineered Wood Association is a nonprofit trade association that was founded in 1933. Today it is widely recognized as the foremost authority in the structural wood panel industry. The APA trademark appears only on products manufactured by APA member mills and is the manufacturer's assurance that the product conforms to the standards shown on the trademark and was subject to APA's rigorous quality assurance program.
The minimum grade recommended by APA for boat building applications:
- APA C-C Plugged, PS-1, Group 1, EXTERIOR plywood or plywood conforming to Industrial Category Index, (ICI) Number of 7-3-3-3.
The four-digit ICI number consists of the following:
- Face Veneer Quality Ranking. A numerical scale indicating the solidness and smoothness quality of the face veneer.
- Back Veneer Quality Ranking. Similar to the face veneer, the ranking addresses the back veneer quality required for the specific application.
- Inner ply veneer under the face. These veneers are often important for applications with heightened fastener holding demands, and where panels are going to be cut into smaller parts.
- Other inner pies. Similar to the veneer under the face, these are assessed for solidness.
The Marine Plywood we offer meets (ICI) Number 9-3-4-4.
Which is higher than the APA recommended minimum grade. For the best durability of plywood in boat manufacturing, APA recommends the use of treated plywood with 0.40 pcf retention, kiln dried after treating (KDAT) to 18% or less.