Plywood $

[whb]

okay, these prices seem a little wonky.

All 1/2" ply from our main plywood vendor here.

All prices in Canadian dollars.

Fir exterior grade $29
Fir marine grade $99
Okoume $199

Does the above make sense. All this talk about marine plywood makes me want to use it but the $$ are definately a factor.

Thanks,

Howard

[JimD]

Yo Howard, buy okoumi for brightwork only, its a showy mahogany substitute with less than great rot resistance and if its for structural work that will be painted forget it, go for doug fir. For bulkheads I've been buying from Windsor Plywood and paying the premium for so called marine grade doug fir on faith that its better than good both sides but who knows? E-mail me personally if I can help
jimd

[Venchka]

I don't know if this helps, but I just paid an average of $150 US for 11 sheets of 4'x8' marine khaya, BS 1088, Lloyds Type Approved, etc. etc.

Will I ever know the difference? Probably not, but I'll always feel comfortable in the boat. It is your primary Personal Flotation Device.

As for those prices in Calgary, the huge difference between doug-fir exterior and marine seems out of whack. How much better is the marine grade? Or, how much worse is the exterior? There seems to be a split on doug-fir on theis forum. Some say it checks, some say it doesn't.

I have seen very little plywood in my life. But the premium marine plywood I have seen has always been good. Clear face veneers, uniform ply thicknesses, no voids.

Who made the $199 dollar marine stuff? That matters too as there can be good expensive marine plywood (Bruynzeel, Shelman) and not so good but still expensive marine plywood.

You pays your money and takes your choose.

[John Blazy]

You could do what I did and thumb yer nose up at the insane prices of okoume or Fir Marine, and use Superply (Roseberg Forrest products, I think - do web search) from any professional cabinetmakers plywood company or get through a cabinetshop. I paid $17.00 per sheet of 1/4" and put the money I'm saving from the ply into an extra half gallon of epoxy and an extra layer of 24 oz glass into the bottom of my new 14' stich-n-glue boat. The only thing marine ply is, is a guarantee to be void free, and use quality thickness veneer plies. It's all got exterior glue, so that's not an issue. If there is a void in a small section of the ply of my hull bottom, then nothing will penetrate 1/8" of epoxy/glass to get to it very easy. It's also not "all core" ply either. The face plies are 1.5mm thick and the core is 3mm.
The best part is the "tropical hardwood" face. I water-base stained it first and looks an awful lot like mahogony-plenty for me. Will post a pic in a sec - JB
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid46/p1509d394879bdffff73a58fe483c835c/fccc9e01.jpg
I'm very pleased with Superply and gladly trust my life in it (mostly my building methods).

[ 01-26-2003, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: John Blazy ]

[Mark Van]

Check the quality. When I got 1/2" plywood for my boat, Lowe's had nice quality 5 ply A/C Fir, it had very few voids. A few years earlier, I looked at a stack of Marine Fir, and every sheet had a big void in the same place. If the exterior plywood has only 4 plys, don't touch it.

[Pelle]

Hi!
I've earlier on talked about the lack of quality found on some sheets I bougth 4 months ago. Now only 3 months after it was applied on my boat as decking, delamination throughout the sheets (and mind you; this is not only one or two sheets). The sheets were BS1088 with a 15 year Lloyds guarantee. So much for that!! Managing Director of the firm (England) was here (in Norway) looking at the catastrophy last week. I am now waiting for some kind of compensation (suggestion). Ironically, If I had succeeded in sealing off plywood with epoxy before the rain came, I would'nt have known what a potential hazard I had beneath my feet.
Unfortunately you can NEVER be certain of the quality unless soaking a sheet or two for some weeks/months. Remember; the epoxy is your first line of defence, but when that gives up ......?

Pelle

[John Blazy]

Mark, Your boats are excellent. I got sucked into the construction pics of your 39' sharpie and was amazed - very good documentation. In my above post I'm not implying to use 1/4" BTW. Just that 3/8 or 1/2 superply will be a heck of lot less expensive than equivalent marine ply, has a better looking face veneer (fir core), and is quoted by maker "also for marine use".

[NormMessinger]

Right, John. The only problem with the Superply I've used is the internal voids. Since they go all the way across a ply they are easy enough to fill with epoxy. But lordy lordy does the "B" face ever soak up epoxy!

[David P]

Howard,
Call Boatcraft in Edmonton (780 437 4919). Don sells both marine ply and a very high quality exterior ply. I've dealt with him in the past have been pleased. It is a small, friendly place to poke around in. I don't have a current price on 1\2" marine but the exterior grade was 107.79CDN. That is Okoume throughout with waterproof glue. No voids in the stack I saw.
BTW, I don't have any ties to Boatcraft other than as a satisfied customer.
Cheers,
David

[WWheeler]

NoahsMarine.com here in TO has the following prices for Oukome:

1/2" (12mm)
40 lbs
7
$ 99.00
$ 89.10

/BB Okoume(gabon) face & core veneers. 1 mm face veneers. Equal or nearly equal laminations. WBP Gluelines. Light weight, good bending and finishing characteristics. Ideal for tortured ply & lap strake construction. Sheet size 48" x 98.5"

I've used the 5 mm., and it's excellent, never encountered any voids.

[whb]

Thanks Guys,

I thought the prices I had been given seemed a little steep. Now just to get off my butt and do something. The boat will live on a trailer in the Drumheller area (regular 40 degrees C in summer) so the only real concern I have with internal voids is from the heat swelling the air trapped therein. I don't think the water will penetrate the epoxy in the time the boat will be in the water.

Thanks,

Howard

[Armedmariner]

Just a data point. I am building my 20 foot skiff with BC exterior grade plywood. The "B" side is acceptable and the "C" side has open knots. I fill the open knots quickly and easily with silica thickened epoxy mix. No issue. I have sheathed the hull exterior and coated with epoxy the interior. I will paint with special System Three paint on the interior - designed to go with their epoxy. I'm not at all worried about not using Okume.

I have SOME fir marine grade in the boat. It IS finer stuff. My BC cut edges show some interesting LARGE voids, the size of 1/4 a dollar bill. I don't like that. But, I fill them.

Bottom line is my boat takes 11 sheets of 3/4 ply basic hull. If I had to pay for Okume to do this I'd be broke before I started. As it is, BC costs me fully 1/3 as much as the Marine Fir and 1/6 as much as Okume.

I have also tested this BC for its ability to keep from delaminating. I have several offcuts living in my truck bed this winter. They are constantly wet and are experiencing a lot of freeze/thaw cycles. No piece has been epoxy coated. And, to date, after 3 months of truck bed testing, there is not a single delam out there. Oh, I also have a couple smaller pieces out there that I boiled and froze in the freezer a couple of times too. Basically, this is good wood. I'm happy at the price and would certainly do it again in a heartbeat.

I just wish I could find some good trim lumber!