Ahoy!
I just got my plans in for the Wing Dinghy from Stevenson that I'm going to start out with. I'm going for something small at first so that I can get out on the water faster, and keep my costs a little lower to start out with.
I've built some stuff before, but not where I've had to pay attention to the type of wood I'm using.
Just what is ACX or marine grade plywood and where can I get it? I'm assuming that I can't just pop on down to Lowes and load up the truck.
I also need to find somewhere for the Fir and clear Fir boards, and I'm thinking it may be a bit harder to find a 14 or 12 foot section.
What are some good ideas for trailering when I do get this boat finished?
I've been lurking on the forums here for about 2 weeks, trying to pick up as many tips as I can as I go. I plan to start working on a Weekender later this year sometime.
Thanks in advance and prepare to be boarded! :twisted:
Welcome Aboard Dustin Prepair to be bombarded with advice. Some good some not so good. You will have to sort through and use what is good for you and this build. First a question, what part of the world do you live in? Different kinds of lumber are more avabable in different areas. ACX is exterior grade plywood marine is a better grade exterior plywood. My thought on the lumber is, find a good local lumber yard to get most of your lumber. You will pay a little more but you will get a lot better grade lumber than at one of the bog box stores. Now get to making sawdust. Dam the torpetoes full steam ahead. Bud
Welcome aboard Dustin,
like bud was saying You will probubly do good at a local lumber company for Your fir and marine grade, be prepared to shop around a bit as I had some trouble finding sources at first, but I found everything that I was looking for.
Where do You hail from? there are folks from all over here, maybe someone is from around Your aria and can offer some advise on where to go.
Good luck building Your gonna like it, if you have any questions dont hesitate to ask, me or someone will answer You.
Brian.
Thanks for the welcome.
I'm in Huntsville, AL. After some research I found a good lumber place with pretty much everything.
http://www.nashvilleplywood.com/
Since I have family that lives up in Nashville, I go up there enough, and it's not too far out.
I've got an e-mail to them asking about prices, and hopefully they'll get back to me soon.
Which wood for marine grade would be the best? They've got a large selection on the plywoods, I see Okoume, and a few I've never even heard of before. I'm a big fan of quality, but I don't want to go too overboard.
It also looks like finding Fir around my part of the country will be rough and expensive, I've read that White Oak or Poplar are good substitutes, any thoughts on that?
As soon as I get a garage here at my apartment, hopefully by this weekend, I'm gonna start building.
Hi Dustin - a few comments for you to consider, basically the difference between the ACX (exterior grade plywood) and Marine grade plywood is that the marine is voidless, this means that there wont be any spaces which could be present in the ACX between the plys. Okoume is the same, but it has a nice veneered side or two which would look great if you plan on finishing it bright, other than that it isnt worth the expense in my opinion. as far as oak or poplar goes, it depends on where and what you are going to use it for. Oak is strong but heavy, make for a good keel or mast but unless you have a steam box i would not use it for stringers, poplar would be a better choice for those as would spruce.
keep us posted and best of luck in finding all the lumber.
bill
Hi Dustin,
You must have told the folks that you were associated with BYYB. I can tell you that folks have hung up immediately on me as well. Something there is about the BYYB name. Now, I just tell them that I know Bill Olney and Keith Mclean. People like Bill and Keith give BYYB a respectable name, well . . . almost.
As to plywood, we did use Marine plywood for our bottom hull, but for the hull proper, we used a high grade of luan, which was readidly available from a local Lowe's.
I tested the luan plywood by putting a piece into a dishwasher. We washed the wood twice, and everything seemed fine. The dishwasher test told us whether or not the glue was exterior grade.
Others have done something similar in choosing a suitable wood. This advice, however, should carry with it a disclaimer, a warning label. If you are married and plan to stay that way, you might want to speak to your wife before testing plywood in her dishwasher. I don't like to mention any names, but Paul Riccelli once put epoxy in the refrigerator. Paul is a fast learner. He quickly decided that storing epoxy in the refrigerator was something he did not want to do.
Well, I was planning on using the white oak for the keel, but if it's going to be too heavy for stringers, I think I'll go with the Poplar. Would poplar make a decent keel?
I'll have to check on this luan stuff at my local Lowes and see what they have there. I don't have to worry about the dishwasher yet, cause the girlfriend still has her own. I think I may have some milk in my fridge that may be thicker than that epoxy.... :?:
Any specific brands that are better than others for the plastic resin wood glue? Will try to find some here locally, but it doesn't look like it's hard to order, was looking at DAP Weldwood.
As of now I'm thinking Okoume or Luan for the hull, Poplar for the framing, stringers and possibly the keel. No clue on the mast, I haven't managed to read that far ahead yet in the plans.
Time to head to Lowes tonight, I need to pick up the screws at least.
Now if they'd just finish evicting that lady from the garage they're going to let me rent at my apartments, I can start grabbing wood and getting to work.
Careful there mate. Don't you be using poplar for your keel. It soaks up water like a sponge and it's very soft. You don't want the backbone of your craft rotting away. Use the white oak. That's a perfect wood for keels, strong, abraisive resistant, and the weight is a good thing. All you have to do is touch it up with paint when it gets scuffed. Like Bud said, you'll get lots of opinions and that's mine.
Yikes, I don't want a spongey keel. I'll go for the white oak then.
The place in Nashville has the marine grade plywood for $37 per sheet at 1/4". Hopefully that's not too bad, haven't found anywhere else "local" yet to compare it to.
I suppose I'll stick with the Poplar for the stringers, need to look over my plans when I get home to see what section boards most of the stringers come off of.
No, thats not a bad price at all for marine grade, now for your stringers I dont know, a red flag is poping up in my head for some reason but I could be wrong, a few folks have told me that southern yellow pine makes for good stringer material if Fir is not available (lots of grain to grab) I have a piece of poplar and it has hardly any grain to it so I decided to not use it, but thats my two cents, the white oak for a keel is an excelent choice I wish I had used it myself, I bought a bunch of Dap weldwood plastic resin glue you can get it online at jamestown distributors, or possably at your Ace hardware store but I only laid up my keel with it then I experimented with epoxy and got some from rakka online and have used it ever since (wish I had laid up my keel with it) I found that epoxy has a good strong hold, very water proof, and mixed with woodflour it fills holes and cracks really good.
Ok that was four cents worth, but hey I talk alot
Brian.