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Here is professional guide Bob Bryant (working the season with Solitude River Trips based in Merlin Oregon) with his new Meranti plywood 17' Tatman boat on the Middle Fork of the Salmon in central Idaho. Meranti is a very high quality mahogany-like plywood that we have been using for the last year. It has more plys than comparable fir plywood (5 plys in 1/4" Meranti vs. 3 for fir, for example) and has face veneers with no football shaped patches. It seems to be tougher than fir, as well as less apt to check (hairline cracks along the grain). It is also near perfect in regard to the lack of core voids and the quality of face veneers compared to fir. Probably the greatest thing about it is it's color. Many folks like the appearance of contrasting plywood and other, lighter colored parts of their boat. It is tricky or inadvisable to use stain under epoxy finishes to get that contrasting effect. Using a plywood which already is dark circumvents any problems with stain under epoxy. The only tradeoff is the extra expense. We believe that the extra cost in the boat is still moderate compared to other mahogany plywoods which can double the price of a kit. When you order the Meranti plywood upgrade, all the plywood parts are made from Meranti.

Casting to a pocket of cutthroat against a granite wall on the Middle Fork. The Middle Fork water is gin clear. The fishing is great. I had two days of 30-40 fish.

The upper Middle Fork has particularly challenging rapids. The whole trip is 97 miles-so that adds up to a lot of rock dodging!

A couple of our boats pulled up on the shore for the night. Bob Bryant's boat is in the background. Guide Herb Jacobson's fir plywood 17' x 52' high side is in the foreground. It's finished clear inside and painted green on the outside. This is Herb's third season on the Middle Fork in this boat.

Here is an example of how the maneuverability and low center of gravity of a wood boat comes into play. This is Velvet Falls rapid, a class four, on the upper Middle Fork. The river drops over 3,000 from here to the end of the trip.

To order call (541)746-5287 or fax at (541) 7442190
or e-mail at mckenzie@gregboats.com