Cost wise- best place to purchase marine grade plywood

[shayski]

I'm about to pull the plug on a catamaran build and trying to put my materials list together and get everything purchased for the project. And I've become very confused on which way to go when it comes to where I should purchase these items . It's important to get a good price on stuff but I also want to make sure I'm getting quality and not garbage as well as a vendor that will stand behind his merchandise. So if anybody can give me some suggestions on where to go, that would be great. Hopefully the suggestions will come from professional experience. And I'm not just talking about plywood. But all things involved in a boat build such as all lumber, epoxy, glues , stains fiberglass, screws, nails etc.

[Wotname]

IME, by far the best plywood is manufactured to AS/NZS2272 rather than the more common BS1088.

Of course, what you can get will depend somewhat on what country you live in!

[shayski]

I live in the U.S. Ohio/Michigan area.

[Paul L]

Check Edensaw Woods - Quality Marine Plywood & Lumber Yard Supply
They can CNC cut it if you want.

[john61ct]

Do not try to save money.

Buy the best quality you can lay your hands on.

Ideally a yard, tip the guys to help you sort through and cherry pick from a fresh delivery.

Learn how to judge before you start.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Wotname

IME, by far the best plywood is manufactured to AS/NZS2272 rather than the more common BS1088.

Of course, what you can get will depend somewhat on what country you live in!

Please explain what make AS/NZS2272 " far better" than BS1088. I have seen this claim before but never an explanation why. I am an expat Kiwi boatbuilder but have been gone a long while so have not seen this plywood to be able to judge for myself. Like the OP I live in the US where we make the worst marine ply in the world so if you want quality marine plywood you must use BS1088. Having used BS1088 for 45 years I find it hard to see how it could be improved on unless of course they are making a true marine ply out of Paulownia (Kiri)to AS/NZS2272 as that would be an improvement.

Steve.

[Wotname]

As you are building a catamaran, you may be chasing weight saving as well as quality; if so look at Garboon plywoods but be aware that quality does vary even if stamped BS1088.

Most (all?) Garboon plywoods are manufactured in various Asian or African countries and often stamped with BS1088. While some meet the standard,other don't and of course, as BS1088 is British standard, it is only enforceable in the UK.

The take away is there can be a trade off between quality and weight and you might have to seek the middle ground.

The is a huge difference in plywood quality, even in "marine" branded plywoods. Shop with your eyes open and try to independently confirm what you propose to buy, don't take the salesman's word for it.

[clockwork orange]

So what design and construction have you settled on? Unlike wotname I have found the quality of BS 1088 plywood to be very consistent regardless of where it is made. I have used hundreds of sheets from NZ, Australia, France, Holland, Israel, Indonesia, and others and all have been equal which is the beauty of the standard.
As far as epoxy goes, while we use west systems at work(we are dealers) i don't use it for my own projects preferring better elongation and a sensible mix ratio. I am currently using Marinepoxy from Boatbuilder central in Vero beach, Florida.
For resins, glass etc the best prices come from purchasing decent quantities which you can do when you are building a good sized boat as long as you have the funds up front to do so. However some materials such as resins have a shelf life so unless you can use them up within that time frame you may not be able to get the best pricing. Glass of course can be purchased in quantity, plywood etc. Shipping is another area where the savings can be substantial, for example you are better off if you can buy all your plywood at once rather than a few sheets at a time.

Steve.

[Fore and Aft]

Clockwork Orange is right, buying in quantity is the way to go. I built my own 32 foot plywood yacht and purchased 112 sheets of plywood in one hit. That size order got me a fairly good discount. I ordered 200 litres of epoxy, cloth and filler/glue powder and got another good discount. For brushes, gloves grinding discs and fastenings I could not go past suppliers who sell through ebay.
If you are newish to boat building I recommend slow epoxy hardner. It just gives you so much more time when using glue or filler.
Cheers and good luck

[bletso]

Try Homestead Hardwoods in Vickery, OH, (just south of Sandusky) As already pointed out don't just buy on price. You save the most by buying where transport cost don't kill you. I don't even try around here, (Louisville,KY). BTW, Homestead does give qty discounts. I have also used Exotic Lumber in Annapolis. (Long drive)

[Chotu]

Buy in bulk.

Boulder Plywood out of Boston.

Get resin direct from the manufacturer in 55 gallon drums.

[Boatguy30]

How big a boat are you building?

Homestead Hardwoods in Oh has good ply prices.

US Composites as about the nest prices on the 2:1 resin most people use as an alternative to West of MAS, System 3 etc.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

Please explain what make AS/NZS2272 " far better" than BS1088. I have seen this claim before but never an explanation why. I am an expat Kiwi boatbuilder but have been gone a long while so have not seen this plywood to be able to judge for myself. Like the OP I live in the US where we make the worst marine ply in the world so if you want quality marine plywood you must use BS1088. Having used BS1088 for 45 years I find it hard to see how it could be improved on unless of course they are making a true marine ply out of Paulownia (Kiri)to AS/NZS2272 as that would be an improvement.

Steve.

This is a good question Steve and because the pricing structure of as/nzs standards, it is hard to be definitive about the actual differences between as/nzs2272 and bs1088. In other words, I'm not spending $100+ to buy the as/nzs publication.

However, here are some of the differences that are known .

AS lists the actual timber species that can be used (they are all listed "marine" species), BS just calls for a moderately durable timber.
AS requires a minimum stress grading of F14, BS does not require any stress grading.
AS requires AA faces (unless under resin etc where OO faces are permitted), AFAIK BS only requires BB faces.
AS has a maximum of two filled grain splits per sheet up to 3 mm wide by 450 mm long, BS allows occasional closed splits.

The only AS/NZS2272 plywood I have used extensively is single species (Hoop Pine) and it comes with a minimum stress rating of F17 (well above the standard required) and it is unfair in some ways to compare it with even good quality BS1088 ply.
What I have seen, is the AS veneers are more constant in size, the face veneers are thicker and the face colour is much more uniform. Weight per sheet is constant with AS sheets while BS sheets, the weight varied considerably between sources.

However my own DIY backyard test for ply is to leave the offcuts lying in the yard, in the weather and untreated for at least a year. The AS offcuts were consistently better than the BS offcuts. Note that some of the BS were as good as the AS but there was a greater variation in the condition of the BS ply.

Having said all that, I would be happy to use a BS1088 plywood if I couldn't source a AS/NZS2272 ply.

The OP probably can't source AS/NZS2272 ply in his area so a BS1088 ply is a good thing for him to look for (IMO).

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by shayski

I live in the U.S. Ohio/Michigan area.

I lived in Grand Rapids Michigan for over 20 years before moving aboard. There are many specialty sources to find using the internet.

Hardwood Lumber, Solid Wood Countertops, Marine and Veneer Plywood Johnson’s Worhkbench has a lot of capabilities and inventory. They can get anything you might need or tell you where to look. Check out their plywood, many marine grades listed.

https://www.mcmaster.com McMaster Carr for a multitude of hardware, tools and materials including SS fasteners, shackles, cables, plastics etc.

Marine Part Depot
Marine Parts Depot. Stainless parts source. These guys have an amazing inventory of affordable parts. I use them for non-critical items, not for holding up the mast. Look for 316 stainless, not 305. Much of their stuff is Chinese.

Fiberglass , Epoxy , Composites, Carbon Fiber - U.S. Composites, Inc. US Composites. I have used many epoxies from the usual suppliers. I prefer their 635 THIN 2:1 for all of my new builds and repairs. Long working times, soap and water clean up of unreacted resin on your skin. Zero blush so you can build easily over several days without worrying about bonding. I buy in 3-gallon sets and always use the pumps. They also have any fillers and glass or other reinforcement materials. Their price is significantly lower than We$t Marine.

Check out the vendors links here on CF.

[Privilege]

Just offering an alternative view here...there are many applications in boat building where expensive marine ply and epoxies are just not necessary. All ply will eventually rot when exposed to moisture so your goal should be to have all non-decorative wood encapsulated in glass anyway. Therefore, many applications will not require marine ply.

Most boats are made entirely with polyester resin, not epoxy. Polyester resin is at least a quarter the price of epoxy. It's perfectly normal for all hulls, decks and internal structures to be made with polyester.