Below is a list of the boat building materials used and links to suppliers.
Marine Plywood: World Panel Products (Low Okoume Prices)
Dimensional Lumber: Hardwoods Inc. of Alabama (205) 646-4160
Fiberglass Cloth and Tape: RAKA Boatbuilding Products
Epoxy: RAKA Boatbuilding Products
Hardware: Hamilton Marine (800) 639-2715
Jamestown Distributors
Sealers
Two Part Flotation Foam
Paint
After reading and talking to some experts, I think I've picked up on the main things to consider when choosing plywood. There are many different types of marine plywood when you consider species, grades, and manufacturers. At first glance Douglas Fir seemed like a good choice. It's relatively light in weight, has a good strength to weight ratio, is moderately durable, and is the lowest in cost. Further investigation revealed some problems and caused me to re-think using it. The quality of Douglas Fir plywood has diminished in recent years. More specifically, the interior laminates of Douglas Fir plywood often have voids. These voids allow moisture build-up which can lead to delamination and rot. Another problem is Douglas Fir plywood is known to check, badly. This means that the exterior laminates develop cracks parallel to the grain, thus allowing moisture penetration.
Okoume (pronounced oh-coo-mee), a species of African Mahogany, has become a very popular choice for boat building in recent years. It's very light in weight, has a high strength to weight ratio, bends easily, seldom exhibits checking, and is readily available in high quality void-free plywood. Its drawbacks are it's considered non-durable and is expensive. The non-durable aspect doesn't seem to present a problem when encapsulated in epoxy. Most marine Okoume is manufactured to either British Standard (BS) 1088 or BS 6566. As I understand it, these standards require that the plywood pass boil tests without delaminating and be free of interior voids. The 1088 plywood has A grade exteriors, while the 6566 has B grade exteriors. BS 1088 Okoume is roughly twice the cost of Marine Fir. BS 6566 Okoume is about halfway between the two. Because my boat will be camo painted I'm not concerned with the plywood's exterior. After mulling it over for several weeks I decided on BS 6566 Okoume. I did use some BS 1088 since 5' x 10' panels were needed. The rest of my plywood was BS 6566.
Marine Plywood: World Panel Products (Low Okoume Prices)
- (2) Sheets 5' x 10' x 3/8" (BS 1088, BS 6566 not available in 5' x 10')
- (5) Sheets 4' x 8' x 3/8"
- (2) Sheets 4' x 8' x 3/4"
Dimensional Lumber: Hardwoods Inc. of Alabama (205) 646-4160
- (2) 5/4" x 6" x 18' Mahogany
- (1) 6/4" x 6" x 18' Mahogany
Fiberglass Cloth and Tape: RAKA Boatbuilding Products
- 150 yards 4 inch 9 ounce glass tape
- 20 yards 50 inch wide 6 ounce cloth
Epoxy: RAKA Boatbuilding Products
- 12 gallons epoxy and hardener (6 gal. resin, 3 gal. fast hardener, 3 gal. slow hardener)
- 10 pounds soft wood flour
Hardware: Hamilton Marine (800) 639-2715
Jamestown Distributors
- Brass Drain Plug Tube--1" Dia., 2 1/4" long
- Brass Drain Plug--1" Dia.
- (4) 6" Silicon Bronze Lift Handles with 1/4"x20 Silicon Bronze Hardware
- Bow Eye -- Silicon Bronze, 3/8" Dia., 6" Shaft Length
- One Box (100 pieces) -- Silicon Bronze, Frearson Flat Head, #10 1 1/2"
- Two Boxes -- Silicon Bronze, Frearson Flat Head, #10 1"
- Two Boxes -- Silicon Bronze, Frearson Flat Head, #8 1 1/4"
- One Box -- Stainless Steel, Phillips Flat Head, #6 1/2"
- (34) 2.5"x1/4x20 Silicon Bronze Flat Head Screws with Washers, Lock Washers, and Nuts
Sealers
- 1 tube 3M 5200
Two Part Flotation Foam
- 2 gallon kit (1 gal. part A, 1 gal. part B)
Paint
- 1 gallon primer (PPG DP 40 paint, DP401 catalyst)
- 1 gallon Parker Duck Boat Paint Hunter Green
- 1 quart Parker Duck Boat Paint Dead Grass
- 1 quart Parker Decoy Paint Black Duck Body No. 34
Plywood Selection
I spent a great deal of time trying to decide on the type of plywood to use. Although some suggested that exterior AB was adequate, I'm not about to go to the trouble of building just to find out they were wrong. Especially given the fact that my boat will be used at time of the year when water temps are cold and plywood failure could lead to death. Marine grade is the only way to go.After reading and talking to some experts, I think I've picked up on the main things to consider when choosing plywood. There are many different types of marine plywood when you consider species, grades, and manufacturers. At first glance Douglas Fir seemed like a good choice. It's relatively light in weight, has a good strength to weight ratio, is moderately durable, and is the lowest in cost. Further investigation revealed some problems and caused me to re-think using it. The quality of Douglas Fir plywood has diminished in recent years. More specifically, the interior laminates of Douglas Fir plywood often have voids. These voids allow moisture build-up which can lead to delamination and rot. Another problem is Douglas Fir plywood is known to check, badly. This means that the exterior laminates develop cracks parallel to the grain, thus allowing moisture penetration.
Okoume (pronounced oh-coo-mee), a species of African Mahogany, has become a very popular choice for boat building in recent years. It's very light in weight, has a high strength to weight ratio, bends easily, seldom exhibits checking, and is readily available in high quality void-free plywood. Its drawbacks are it's considered non-durable and is expensive. The non-durable aspect doesn't seem to present a problem when encapsulated in epoxy. Most marine Okoume is manufactured to either British Standard (BS) 1088 or BS 6566. As I understand it, these standards require that the plywood pass boil tests without delaminating and be free of interior voids. The 1088 plywood has A grade exteriors, while the 6566 has B grade exteriors. BS 1088 Okoume is roughly twice the cost of Marine Fir. BS 6566 Okoume is about halfway between the two. Because my boat will be camo painted I'm not concerned with the plywood's exterior. After mulling it over for several weeks I decided on BS 6566 Okoume. I did use some BS 1088 since 5' x 10' panels were needed. The rest of my plywood was BS 6566.
