Finishing Marine Mahogany Plywood

[alofns]

I am trying to make a new companionway hatch for my Redwing 30 out of a piece of mahogany plywood. I'd like to try and match the teak trim around the cockpit. Any suggestions for how to finish the wood to get the match?

[Pub911]

You can get them to coordinate but I don't know of any way to get them to match. I suppose this is an obvious question, but why not use the same material (teak) for the new companion way?

[alofns]

I couldn't find teak plywood, other than cabin sole. If I layer on several coats of spar varnish would that get it close?

[CalebD]

I'll encourage you to use solid wood, whether teak, mahogany or whatever species as plywood is prone to splitting in outdoor environments. If it is inside your cabin then have at.
Mahogany can be stained to look close to the teak look but it is redder or ruddier. Plain finished mahogany with adjacent teak would probably look very nice too.

[sailingfool]

If you go with the plywood, I would seal the edges with 3-4 coats of epoxy so you get at least a few years out of them.

[bljones]

If you plan to stain the mahogany, use a water-based stain. Oil-based stains can cause curing problems under some topcoats.