BYYB Forums

hello everybody, I'm Sorin from Romania and I'm very glad I found  this place!
I can't turn my eyes from Vacationer since I found "her" but because I already have alot of  this material ;can I build the Vacationer's hull with 9 mm playwood? this will be in imperial system 3/8 of inch. of course I will reinforce it with some wood stringers!
I already built two little boats ;a canoe and a skiff but I guess the Vacationer can induce other problems then a little boat.
I salute you all and wait some good advice from you !
thank you!

     
      Welcome aboard  Sorin,  like you I am new to this and also building a Vacationer, I am sure the brains trust will give a dozen reasons why not to use the 3/8” ply. The plans call for ¼” ply for the hull, so the way I see it 3/8” should by OK.  Most 3/8” ply in the states is only three ply, a thick center with two thin 1/4”Ply outside. The thought is that with heat or moisture the inner layer destroys the thin outer layers. I have used ¼” ply and have covered both sides with fiberglass.  Maybe if you do the same the 3/8” will be good. 
 
The plans for the Vacationer are getting a little outdated and most builders are finding ways to improve things as we go along, without changing the basic design.  I myself have raised the cabin roof
6 inches and made the front square to give more space inside, I am now trying to work on the principle of “keep it simple and don’t over think things”  the way I see it I am building a boat to enjoy sailing not a museum piece. I gave myself six months to get the boat in the water, I am a little behind schedule but hope to catch up.
 
  Almost all the questions you will have, as you build you will find the answers to on the old boards , if not shout out and you with receive all the help you need. Good luck ,be sure to post pictures as you go along.

                                                        Yours Keith

hello Keith , glad to be here!
my 3/8 plywood have five layers and like I told before I already built two boats from it ,of course  protected with fiber-glass but only on the exterior side! my Vacationer will stay in the water one month at most so I can't see a problem!the problem I am concern is about the extra weight of the hull,I don't know how big is the difference of weigt between 1/4 and 3/8 plywood , what do you think?
thanks again and escuse my poor english!

Sorin,  Many will argue with me but the Vac desires a little ballast to steady her out.  Mine held ~ 260 lb around the bottom of the compression post.  The diffrence in weight between your 3/8" and the specified 1/4" willl be in your favor.  Use it and don't worry.  I thnk I would double the hull bottom if using the 3/8".  As I recall it is specified to be 1/2". Happy building and keep those photos coming.  8) 8) 8)

actually depending on which type of plywood you are using the weight can differ a good bit each sheet so the difference between 1/4 and 3/8 might not be as great an issue as you think.  If you built using Okoume the plywood part of your boat would be less then if you built using merenti.  I don't know if the Vacationer has any compound curves to the sides but a thicker ply might effect that and be more of an issue then the weght difference.  When if first looked at the 1/4' ply that made up the sides of my boat, (not a vacationer), I thought it was not substantial enough.  Then I looked at some fiberglass, commercially built and sold boats and realized their sides were a lot thinner so quit worrying about it and decided not to second guess the designer.  This won't be the last "change" you consider while completing your boat.  Incorporating your ideas into the build is part of homebuilding.  Good luck with your build.

Sorin:  Good luck on your build, and please post some pictures of your progress.

Dave

thank you people  thanks for all advices  but in the mean time I changed my mind , I'm feel a litlle ashamed but this is it ;I ordered the Weekender plans  ;D
this because of the bad situations in Romania and I thought ;I prefer to build a boat quick and enjoy of it instead to have a expensier boat to build in my yard! even if I love Vacationer I guess her sister is pretty too
what a soap opera !)
I will come with news soon!
greatings to everyone! ;D