building with regular exterior plywood? and boat plans?

M

michael barnes

Active member
i have been looking at different boat plans, and see that some recommend marine plywood like okume and others say its too high and recommend regular exterior plywood. my question is can a boat like the devlin blue bill, a boat that is recommended too be built with light weight okume, be built exactly by the plans with the heavier regular plywood? what effect will the heavier wood have on it other than increased weight?
also, i am wanting to order some plans and am looking at the gator boats duckhunter, and one of the devlin sneakboats. there is about a 40.00 difference in the two, and was wondering what the 60.00 set has over the 20.00 set. thanks for any info.
 
Lots of folks should chime in on the exterior fir plywood. The ACX grade material at the lumber yard will have enough voids in its plys to eventually rot out due to moisture accumulation. It will take several years for the moisture to get into the wood and then a few more years for the wood to rot and start to fail. Fir also checks and warps badly and no amount of FG and resin will over come this mechanical issue.

The Bluebill can be built with fir and might sit lower in the water since it might weigh 50 pounds more and that would be 50 pounds of gear you don't get to take with you to hunt with.

If you plan on using fir plywood go with a marine grade material. It is more than ACX at the Depot, but less than imported marine plywood made from tropical trees. A normal lumber yard should be able to sell some to you.

Keep in mind that there are thousands of boats made with fir marine plywood and many last decades. They just need to be cared for and not left full of water and leaves over the winter, dings in the epoxy fixed each year, paint maintained, and all that boaty stuff.

As to the plan costs they are two different companies that price their products differently. The boats as planned can be built per plan from the plans easily enough. Both boats are supported by web forums so any question you have can be easily asked and answered. Your only real choice in the matter is which boat to build and not the cost of the plans. From what I have seen on the web these past nine years is that the Duckhunter is a much easier boat to plan and perhaps build than the Devlin boats. Then again I thought my Devlin boat was pretty easy to build.
 
if i build a boat, it will be my first, and id hate to ruin a sheet of terribly expensive marine plywood. if i screw up a cheap sheet of plywood, no big deal. if i dont and it turns out fine,i can build another if/when i have trouble with rot. thanks for the very informative post!
 
if i build a boat, it will be my first, and id hate to ruin a sheet of terribly expensive marine plywood. if i screw up a cheap sheet of plywood, no big deal. if i dont and it turns out fine,i can build another if/when i have trouble with rot. thanks for the very informative post!
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Or you could have unseen rot cause the boat to fall apart under you.
 
If you are concerned about cutting up a piece of imported french plywood don't be. You can use cheap hardboard or 1/4 plywood to make templates to fit the piece into the hull and then use that to cut the $$ stuff.

When building a boat you never try to put it together as fast as possible. You always take a break to step back and make sure you are laying out the lines right.

Measure twice cut once.

The other thing about this boat building stuff is that folks are all concerned about the plywood. If you really want to scare your wallet price out a 5 gallon kit of WEST epoxy, 10 yards of 60" 6oz cloth, and 50 yards of 4" 6oz tape. And then think of the quart or two of that epoxy you will be throwing away due to short pot life or over filling and then scraping the filletts out. That $$ plywood is not all that costly in the end.
 
Dude... don't ask a question if you already know your answer when very informed people tell you the exact opposite. If very informed people tell you the opposite of your conclusion... why ask the question?

Here's another reason to go with the expensive stuff. It bends differently than the cheap stuff... and when Sam designs his boats, he designs it with the expensive stuff. I used the cheap (marine ply) on my console and compared to the expensive stuff... it sucks to work with.

The expensive stuff is a joy to work with and it will cut the your project time. Your time is valuable...
 
Dude... don't ask a question if you already know your answer when very informed people tell you the exact opposite. If very informed people tell you the opposite of your conclusion... why ask the question?

Here's another reason to go with the expensive stuff. It bends differently than the cheap stuff... and when Sam designs his boats, he designs it with the expensive stuff. I used the cheap (marine ply) on my console and compared to the expensive stuff... it sucks to work with.

The expensive stuff is a joy to work with and it will cut the your project time. Your time is valuable...


i really had no conclusion, so therefore, i asked. thanks to all who answered my question.
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If you are trying to save money by building your own boat, it isn't going to happen. A cheaper route is to find a good used one. Trust me I have punched the numbers six ways to Sunday. I am building my float, because I can't buy what I wanted.

However, boats like the gator duckhunter and Glen-L sneakbox call out the option of exterior plywood. I am sure plenty have been built with such and work just fine. If you store it under cover and don't leave it on the dock all season, they will probably last a long time. Just don't let them sit in rain or snow. Even a tarp may not be enough protection as they can trap moisture. Just realize the limitations of the material.
 
The Gator Boat site also has a forum. It is a great place to ask questions and get info - lots of pics. In fact the Duckhunter is the primary boat discussed. I have some Gator plans and Sam Devlin's book and video. The construction methods differ between them. A number of Gator boats including Duckhunter are hard chined. Devlin uses stitch & glue construction.

Measure twice cut once.
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I was told the complete quote goes, "Measure twice cut once. Measure once curse twice."
 
Mike, The glass, epoxy and time will make the cost of the wood cheap. Short bit of advice from me . Don't cheat yourself with cheap wood. Once you start working with the good stuff you will be convinced. "Measure twice and then once more then cut." Patterns will set your mind at ease. Good luck and keep posrting.
 
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