Glen-L.com

Well, I did the suggested search and just found many other frustrated boatbuilders on a variety of forums anguishing over the same issue I'm facing. I did find a lot of cheap marine grade made in China available through 'buyer's clubs' .

Enough of this... I'll just pay the dang shipping and order from Homestead, Houston Hardwoods, Northend Hardwoods... whoever has the best price on Hydrotek (shipping figued in). I've wasted more money on far less meaningful things--believe me.

I should be able to use B/C exterior for the subdeck, yes?

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Andy Garrett

"When all else fails, follow the instructions." -Dad

Andy, not sure if you get the same plywood in your big box places as we do north of the border, but there is a fir plywood called Arucoply (sold at Lowes up here among other places).

It has an ACX designation, which is not an actual APA grade standard, but the stuff has a sanded A grade face, a C face (the back) and nothing worse than C veneer inner plies. The "X" implies (but it's not a recognized letter grade) that it is exterior rated to the APA's "exposure 1" standards - basically meaning it can't withstand a totally "exposed" exterior application, but it's fine if "protected" (covered with something).

It is bonded with Phenolic glue (waterproof) and otherwise meets the waterproof/boilproof standards of "exterior" plywood (if you are interested, ext plywood must pass the test 85% of the time to meet the the total test standard - X or exposure 1 must meet the standard 80% of the time - so it's pretty close and often panels that start out intending to be "ext" are reclassed "exposure 1" if there is some slight flaw in the mfg process).

It does have some voids (so does exterior) in the inner plies unlike a panel rated "marine" but it is very suitable in protected locations that are not under "bending stress" - so for deck/sole boards, bulkheads, transoms, stems etc it's fine, I wouldn't use it as hull material.

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Graham

Yes, Plywood is "real" wood

A "professional" is someone who gets paid for their work - it doesn't necessarily mean they are good at it

You probably can,but.....

I've heard others on here that came up short for one reason or another(and I did on my skiff too) and had to obtain an extra sheet after the fact.If you include enough to do the subdeck,you will have extra to cover goofs, or side trim panels or any other misc small items(mine was the seat top in the bow where I didn't have enough)

The cost difference between that and BC exterior is not that much( I was surprised when I priced bc 1/4 exterior) ,but if you need to order ONE extra sheet the shipping will kill you.Plus the good stuff has more plies and is much nicer to work with.

You can always use it somewhere if left over.... a cabinet for knifes,the next boat,etc.........

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Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

More excellent information!

I'm so glad I found this place! You guys are great!

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Andy Garrett

"When all else fails, follow the instructions." -Dad

Well, 8 sheets of Hydrotek from Homestead is $39 per sheet, $75 to crate it, and $167.79 to ship it. After a few bucks in discounts for volume, the checkout cart shows a total bill of $539.19

I spoke with Guy at Houston Hardwoods a few hours ago. They get $40 per sheet of Hydrotek, $20 to crate it and they are a bit closer than Homestead (in Sandusky, Ohio). He is working up a full quote and multiple shipping options. If they can beat Homestead, I guess I'll send them a pile of money Monday morning.

I could have got Aquatek for $37 per sheet, but it wasn't significant enough of a price difference to accept a lower quality sheet (even though none of my ply will be bright finished ).

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Andy Garrett

"When all else fails, follow the instructions." -Dad