Plywood

From ClassicBoatWiki

Following [World War II], Chris-Craft set out, once again, to retool its factories, this time returning to pleasure boat production upon the completion of war time government contracts. Chris-Craft entered the post war years having learned about new materials and boat building methods, Specifically, Chris-Craft had been building military boats from materials, such as [Plywood] and modern adhesives such as [Thiokol], a practice that they carried into post war construction.

The Kit Boat Division (established in 1950) was the first to stray from Chris-Craft's traditional carvel plank on batten seam frame construction, utilizing sawn solid wood frames, with an outer skin of plywood. Following the Kit Boat Division, the Cavalier Division was established in 1955, to manufacture runabouts, utilities, and cruisers from this durable new material.

Plywood offered several benefits over traditional hardwood. The alternating grain direction of the plys, offered excellent multidirectional strength and rigidity. As well, the composite nature of the product, made it stable, and less susceptible to expansion and contraction, due to alternating periods of wet and dry, hot and cold. Plywood skinned boats were also much quicker to build and finish, streamlining Chris-Craft's manufacturing processes, and allowing the company to build a cost-competitive product.

The use of plywood permeated all divisions, ultimately being used for strakes on the lapstrake boats of the Sea Skiff Division, inner layers on double-plank bottoms, and the outer skin on hull sides and decks. Plywood was generously used on many Chris-Craft models from the early to late 60s, when the transition to fiberglass started.