Here are some facts relating to the main materials we use in construction of our folding boats.

Marine Ply


All our boats use good quality materials we source from around the world. We use ELITE marine grade plywood with a 15 year guarantee produced in a Lloyds approved mill ensuring consistent quality. With a pale mahogany colour, it is manufactured from selected Gaboon (Okoume) veneers throughout, it has an attractive close grained face which is ideal for varnishing and finishes well. Due to its excellent strength to weight ratio, it is also very popular for dinghy construction and ideal for our versatile folding boats. The product has the following approvals BS1088, Lloyds Register Type Approval, PS1-95, KOMO Class ‘A’ or ‘C’.

The plywood has FSC certification which means the products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

Jointing Fabrics and Adhesives

The fabrics we use for the ingenious jointing system and the bow and stern panels is based on 700gsm super heavy duty satin lacquered and fire retardant PVC material. BS 5438 1989 Tests 2a and 2b. The main adhesive is a two pack variety which provides excellent adhesion and sealing properties in the jointing strips and the four corners of the boat’s construction.

Varnish


We use a traditional quality UV resistant yacht and seaplane varnish. Two diluted veneer washes are used to seal the surface and end grains of the plywood panels before two top coats of 100% varnish are applied. This provides a durable and workmanlike finish, which can easily be touched up if scuffs occur, and easily rubbed down for adding a new coat of varnish at the end of the season.

Seahopper Lighter Specification