what wood can be used for bulkheads?

Oct 2, 2008
1,424
Island Packet 31 Brunswick, Ga
Most likely something like 18mm. Bulkheads are prone to weakening from standing water and saturation. Seal it with marine-rated epoxy.
consider scanning this old thread of mine. Some of the contributors are no longer with us. Use the photo to find the thread.
 

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bletso

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Aug 20, 2013
106
Globe 38 PCB
I second Gunni. I'd use either okoumi or meranti BS1088 ply. 1088 is A/B face grade, BS6566 is B/C face plies. BS rated plywood specifies more plies than average fir "marine" plywood available from your local lumberyard, and boil proof glue. Plywood rating systems are all over the place. I was able to buy submersible "marine" ply from my local lumberyard (they call it "marine ply" because it was immersion rated glue), but it was fir, and didn't have as many plies per thickness as a BS graded ply. Fir is less desirable because it will crack and check, even if painted with epoxy resin.

Okoume is relatively light, not terribly rot resistant, but certainly ok for interior use, and used in many hull building projects where encased in epoxy and glass. Meranti can be good too, but I understand it's more brittle and prone to cracking while being worked. Sapele is expensive, but has some beautiful grain patterns, if you had something that you wanted to look especially nice. Chesapeake Light Craft uses okoume for hulls and bulkheads in their kayak kits, and sapele for decks.

You can order BS graded plywood from Noah's Marine, and they will ship full panels, 1/2, 1/4, and possibly down to 1/8 size panels. http://www.noahsmarine.com/index.asp
A more reasonable supplier of Meranti, Okoume and sapele is Exotic Lumber in Annapolis. They have a large selection of thicknesses and materials as well as teak, mahogany and other hardwoods. I have dealt with both companies. There is contact info for the above and others at http://69.89.27.238/~sailboa1/suppliers/