The boat is plywood over stringers. I'm not good at identifying wood species, maybe its possibly cedar, but it doesn't seem to have the cedar smell. Alternatively kahikatea or spruce would not be surprising according to what little I know of NZ boatbuilding practice. The ply thicknesses seem to vary considerably - from under 2mm to almost 9mm. The topsides are very light - measuring at under 2mm, albeit heavily reinforced. By the time I started sailing in the Cherub class, in 1975, there was a rule requiring decks and topsides to be of equivalent strength. These thin topsides are definitely delicate and need care and attention, and I cannot imagine that the original decks were quite so light, so I reckon the boat predates this rule. The decks in the helm area look as if they could be original plywood, but the crew's deck and foredeck have been replaced since I've owned the boat. The foredeck certainly wasn't original when I replaced it. The floor is considerably more solid than the topside and decks, being almost entirely double skinned except right at the stern and bow, and in the area between the chine and the first stringer.
The light weight theme extends even to the gunwales. Instead of being solid timber they are two pieces of approx. quarter inch square strip wood, with a ply capping. The shockcord for the crew's trapeze harness runs down the middle!
