BYYB Forums

Hi guys,

I was shopping around for lumber prices and the following seemed to be the best deal so far:

this price is the final price (no shipping charge)

Is this in line?

6mm  hydrotek meranti $63.20
12mm hydrotek meranti $77.20
18mm hydrotek meranti $116.50

4x8 sheets

Dave G.

If the plywood is BS1088 that price is competative, especially if you don't have to pay shipping.  The shipping from Bateau.com for plywood for a Weekender was more than $150.  I couldn't find okuome locally, and I did a fair amout of legwork before buying.  For BS6566 meranti the price is high.  1088 is the better grade.

Dave

Hydrotech is a BS1088 sheet. I can get it for 40 bucks a sheet locally for 1/4" (6 mm), about $70 for 1/2" (12 mm) and $95 for 18 mm. I can get it cheaper if I enter into a coop, but the current economic climate means I buy what I need and am thankful for commercial account discounts.

Most folks should pay around $110 to $120 for 18 mm, $77 to $85 for 1/2" (12 mm) and $45 to 50 for 1/4" (6 mm).

These prices would be typical for southeast USA, before shipping. Interestingly enough, this part of the country gets the best plywood prices in the US.

Yes, I've noticed that everything is more expensive out here.  (SF Bay area, CA).  Albeit I now have a garage with a vacationer sized carport on the side of it, and am in a climate where I can build year round without having to fire up a wood stove.

I belong to a local wood shop.  The prices I posted were through them.

Hey Paul,  when I glue up the quartersawn white oak to get the width I need for the keel, should I index the boards every so often with a biscuit joiner?

I'm getting about $6.00/ board foot for the white oak.

Another question that I have is the fact that meranti is heavier than ACX.  Is that going to adversely affect the buoyancy per the plans?

Thanks,

Dave G.

A word of caution on hydrotek plywood.  It is heavier then okoume and the outer layers on the sheets I bought had numerous small voids that were filled with pink bondo.  When I bent the side pieces those filled areas popped out leaving spots that had to be filled.  I ended up removing all the bondo and filled the voids with epoxy and wood flour.  I did not find any internal voids and the layers do not separate after being cut.  It seems that only the surface layers have bondo filled spots though I can't say that with 100% certainty just that I did not find any voids along cuts.  I bought my plywood from Allied Vanier in California.  My intention, at the time, was to build at least one more small boat.  I paid $46 a sheet for the 6mm and $58 for the 9mm. I bought 10 sheets total and the shipping was $109.

I have had a number of people suggest that I leave the hull on my Triad bright.  It does look nice with the wood showing under 1 coat of glass and resin and the 3 coats of clear epoxy.  A coat or two of varnish would add protection and shine.  However the voids would show and ruin the bright work.  There are a couple dozen at least.  So of the idea of surface blemishes is a concern I would suggest you spend a bit more and get okuume.

Meranti does check, which gets filled at the manufacture. The filler isn't intended to tolerate flexural strain. Under epoxy and fabric, it's not an issue, left alone it will usually fall out. It's a minor issue, especially compared to fairing ACX or marine grade fir. In short, if the factory filler falls out, apply some more and move on to encapsulation.

Look plywood boats should be sheathed. I know it sucks, but it's the right thing to do for this material. The veneers are so thing, the quality dropping so much in recent years, that even the best plywood needs to be sheathed in fabric and goo.

Do you have to? Nope, you don't and you might have a long life with the boat, but more likely then not you will not.

You know terry I built my boat out of merenti, and have seen the pink bondo in mine, I havent had the problem of it popping out at all. I have had some sitting in water and dry out a zillion times in the last 3 years (just scraps) with no delam. But what I am getting to Is I used a piece of okkume on my rear starboard side, and it is the only piece that has shown any sign of warpage, it is conciderably lighter, but I am dissapointed at ther ammount of body work that I am going to have to do to fix some of the warpage in the sheet.
I also got my merenti  (hydrotek) from allied as well truthfully I have been very happy with this wood so far.

Brian.

Don't get me wrong.  I am impressed with the hydrotek ply.  I would buy it again.  I just wanted to point out the blemish issue as it was one of the deciding factors in not leaving the boat bright.  I had no problem replacing the bondo that popped out.  I cleaned out and filled the rest of the spots on the sides because I felt better with them filled with epoxy and wood flour.  The sides on this little boat bend around the curve of the nose, go from concave to convex and twist slightly as they go from front to back.  All that flexing in a 2 foot by 13 foot panel convinced me that replacing the bondos plugs was prudent.  I knew there would be surface blemishes before buying the ply.  Allied described the product and I don't feel cheated in any way.  Hydrotek ply is very strong and finished just fine.  I only refilled the bondo plugs in the sides.  I just epoxied and glassed the hull bottom and deck.  I should point out that their was a difference in the number and size of bondo filled blemishes between the 6mm and 9mm.  The 6 mm had far more.

I am sorry to hear that the okoume is giving you headaches Brian.  I only suggested the okoume because it is suppose to have fewer, if any, surface blemishes.  I am not a plywood expert and my experience with marine ply is limited to what we have discussed and a couple of exterior boxes I built years ago.  If I seem picky about the bondo fill issue it is probably because I am obsessing about building this boat.  If I build a second one I will just saw up some wood, slather on some goo, and coat it with porch paint.  Ok even I know thats a lie but for those who build like that I hold no judgement.  My wife has accused me of building a piano more then once.  Perhaps I should build another small boat just to see how fast I could get it done given my experience with this one and the knowledge I have gotten from my attendence at the BYYB forum advanced course in all things boat building.

Greetings David,

I bought my Okume plywood from Plywood & Door USA a few years ago for roughly $50, $60, & $70 a sheet.  I am sure the prices have gone up a little since then as these woods are imported and the dollar has dropped a bit.  I picked the sheets up at the warehouse using a Menards $20/hr pickup truck.  Interestingly enough, Menards and Home Depot don't care what you use the truck for. 

I notice that Plywood & Door USA at has a location in your state ...

Los Angeles
      17532 Studebaker Road
      Cerritos, CA 90703
      562.402.6600 voice
      562.865.5619 fax

So far I like the Okoume.  You need to use very sharp tools to keep the top veneer from sheeding tiny little splinters, or you can just use masking tape along the edge before you cut it.  I have had no warping problems at all.  Okoume is drop-dead gorgeous as it looks just like mahogany.  None of my panels have checks, splits, voids, or those football shaped fillers.  It will be a shame to cover most of it under paint.

Okoume is a lighter and stiffer than Meranti or fir plywood, so it would be a good choice if you are building light to get a high-performance weekender, or building alone with no help.  I was able to lift and position my deck assembly by myself.  The wood is also very smooth.  The interior parts of the boat that I have painted so far required no real surface prep; just primer, a light sanding, and then the finish coat.  Glassy smooth.

Cheers,
Tom

I use a box knife to draw the cut line on ply sheets.  I find that it all but eliminates splintering along the top layer of ply.  I have also used an abrasive blade, like the ones used for cutting tile, instead of a multi tooth blade.

I will most likely again use merenti on my next build.  That is if my health allows a next build.  I live a long ways from any oceans but I still want an ocean capable boat.  I also like a round bottom design but would have to ask a designer I have in mind what he thinks first.  I don't have a vacum bagging system and have read that for cold molding it is the cats meow.

I don't want to hijack the focus of this post so back on the marine wood issue I'd suggest a try at the surface cut thing.  Draw a nice curved line then follow over that with the box knife cutting into the top ply layer.  Pull out you best saw with the sharpest blade and give it a rip.