StarBoard vs Marine Plywood ?

[CarlF]

Despite my earlier advice, I've also heard great things about Azek. I'd probably give it a try if I was doing this job.

Carl

[Blue Stocking]

Not as ceheap as plywood, but way below starboard, is the expanded core board used by sign painters. I have a 40+ lb inverter sitting centered on a piece with about 2" margins to the support points. No distortion in 14 years.

[sabray]

plywooD oF reasoNable quality will last a long time in a interior. using a mdo or hdo plywood is near the super expensive Marine grade for most applications.Seal the end grain with epoxy.

[David M]

I use both for different applications.

Starboard is heavier and less rigid, but will never rot or delaminate. For an interior structural member I would choose marine plywood. Epoxy will bond to it much better and it is lighter for a given strength.

For something like shelves that do not need to be light or super strong then I would pick the Starboard.

Starboard is certainly better for things that need to look pretty.

[donradcliffe]

I just used some half-inch to replace some soft plywood under a leaking water heater. It was a potentially wet area, and I thought the starboard was appropriate. The material was easy to work and the project went well and I liked the look. The piece of starboard retailed for $100 at WMP, but a friend with a port supply account got it for about $65. The original was a piece of 3/4 inch teak and holly veneered plywood, and a quarter sheet would probably have cost more.

[minaret]

Definitely Coosa board. I've used loads of it in applications like that.


Coosa Composites, LLC - Manufacture of high-density, fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane foam panels

[David_Old_Jersey]

Funnily enough was thinking about StarBoard a few weeks ago, and trying to get at least some rough numbers (£££) - also puzzling through whether I can use it to replace some wooden cabin top handrails (the wood is straight, the supports are raised parts of the GRP deck).

and maybe also for a cap to the bulwarks (presently capped with v. manky teak - it's bad enough (for me!) maintaining something like that, even worse when no matter what is done still looks like crap ). I like zero maintanence .

.....but I ran into a "slight" problem - can't seem to find any UK distributors .....nor could I work out what a UK equivalent was.

Anyone know?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by minaret

Definitely Coosa board. I've used loads of it in applications like that.

Coosa Composites, LLC - Manufacture of high-density, fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane foam panels

Looks great, time saving over my proposed material and will outperform it too I think. How would you finish the cut edge of a floor panel?

cheers,
Nick.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Funnily enough was thinking about StarBoard a few weeks ago, and trying to get at least some rough numbers (£££) - also puzzling through whether I can use it to replace some wooden cabin top handrails (the wood is straight, the supports are raised parts of the GRP deck).

and maybe also for a cap to the bulwarks (presently capped with v. manky teak - it's bad enough (for me!) maintaining something like that, even worse when no matter what is done still looks like crap ). I like zero maintanence .

.....but I ran into a "slight" problem - can't seem to find any UK distributors .....nor could I work out what a UK equivalent was.

Anyone know?

Vetus do some , but its an outrageous price

try these Recycled Plastic Lumber, or Plastic Wood Composite made in Britain from 100% recycled plastic sourced from the UK dont know if they do what you want but its wortha call.

[Canibul]

I think that if it were me, in the kind of spaces I would envision doing this in, I think I might at least consider a combination of the two materials. I could see me using starboard ribs and frames at the hull interface. This is easy stuff to machine, to match a curve. Plywood always seems to come out rougher than I want at jigsawed edges. I would consider that the permanent framework, and also just happens to be the part that I would hate painting in place. Starboard takes that out of it.

Then maybe for the flat sections like bulkheads and decking, maybe cut the thinnest ply I could get away with, to save cost, and weight. These are easier cuts than ribs. Can make paper templates etc. Then screw the ply to the starboard support structures. Some side benefits to this approach are that there are fewer starboard to starboard intersections, where adhesives are no good. Mechanical side loads on these joints cannot do anything but loosen them. Keeping the starboard as primary support ribs eliminates the need for adhesives that you can't use anyhow.

You still have the hassle of sealing the plywood decking, but it's flat pieces you can work with outside on sawhorses in the sunlight. It's not nearly the mess of a wooden rib system. Some other benefits are that the part of this setup that gets damaged should something heavy get dropped, burnt, stained, etc, is that you can get replacement plywood anywhere you are. Not so with starboard repairs on the road. I might think about putting some stainless threaded inserts into the starboard rim and use stainless machine screws to hold decking down, but it would be okay to start out with just screws and then graduate to inserts later if I found out that the screws needed to be beefed up.

Ply, where you can use it, has got to be cheaper and lighter, and easier to replace.

Does starboard float very well? I know I don't seem to see much of it as driftwood unless it's bolted to something that floats. We do a lot of beachcombing on isolated places here. I search for hardwoods in these places.

[twistedtree]

One little detail to keep in mind is that it's 20F here, and despite the unseasonably warm weather until now, it's unlikely to get above 40F on the boat until April. That precludes fiber glassing, epoxy, and pretty much any form of goo compound unless I wait until spring.

I spend a little time yesterday looking at the spans I need to cover, and generally getting a sense of how I might organize the space. I'll see if I can post some pictures to help others visualize what I'm trying to accomplish. Many of the suggestions, though very good, anticipate a bigger project than what I have in mind.

One take-away from my look yesterday is that I don't think I'll have any spans greater than 12" that need to carry any significant load (like me). I've also realized that I probably don't need any shelves, or at least I won't make any initially. I think I'll have enough flat deck space for everything.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Duke 48

Not sure how much surface area you have to cover (sq. ft.), but, if you decide to go with plywood, have you considered a coating of epoxy on the plywood before it is installed and painted? This will extend the life of the wood even if it is occasionally exposed to water.

It occurs to me that the poster could use marine plywood for the horizontal pieces, and starboard for the supports, as the starboard laughs at water. Drill a few holes and let the horizontal boards tip a few degrees, and any water would drain away. The plywood would probably last for years.

[Capt.Fred]

Use plywood for a temporary fix and lots of maintenance. I use 1/2" starboard for most everything around my boats. On my measly budget it is the least expensive way. "Forever is cheaper" Take a 1/2" X 4" wide piece of Starboard, use an 18" span and jump on it. Now try a piece of like plywood.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Looks great, time saving over my proposed material and will outperform it too I think. How would you finish the cut edge of a floor panel?

cheers,
Nick.

Yeah, it's great stuff. Really bomber strong, fairly light weight, can't rot, and you can glass to it with no prep without worrying about it ever delaming. Very easy to cut too. And it won't warp or "potato chip" like many panels will. Finish a cut edge? I'd seal it with gelcoat brushed on (it's a little porous being basically a foam), sand out the gel, and apply the finish of your choice. Beats the hell out of decoring a panel edge and filling and taping it. It's only drawback is that it won't hold a fastener, which means if you want to fasten to it you must thru-bolt or tab. But I think mechanical fasteners are kinda old-hat for most structural things anyway. It also costs about the same as marine plywood. I build all sorts of structures in boats out of it, from whole bulkheads to hydraulic steering ram mounts. I can't understand using starboard for that sort of thing, it's just so heavy. And nothing sticks to it. How do you fasten it to the hull? You'd have to glass in a shelf to land everything on. And it would have to be a wood cored shelf so your fasteners will have something to hang in. I prefer to use coosa board and tab it to the hull everywhere. Sometimes I totally encapsulate it with laminate for stuff that needs to be really strong, instead of just tabbing it.

[twistedtree]

I did a little experiment today comparing 1/2" Starboard to 1/2" plywood. Part of my laz decking involves replacing an existing section that supports a washer/dryer. I got the washer out and was then able to crawl across the plywood section. It deflected quite a bit under my less-than-slender build. I then removed the plywood and put in a piece of 2' square 1/2 starboard on top of the same support blocking that held the plywood (same spacing) adn crawled over that. It was MUCH firmer than the plywood. I was really quite surprised. I expected the Starboard to be weaker than the plywood, or at best equal. It's actually noticeably stiffer. For the new areas I pan to deck I would judge 1/2 plywood to be insufficient, where the 1/2" Starboard is fine.

I'll be picking up a 4.5' x 8' sheet later this week. I measured everything out and I'll be able to make all the decking from one sheet. So for under $300 I'll be able to make everything with no epoxy sealing, no sanding, no fiber glass, and no Awlgrip.