Plywood Boat Building

OKOUME: Okoume is currently regarded as perhaps the finest marine grade plywood for boat building, certified british manufacturing standards 1088. Okoume is used by hobbyist small boat builders to some of the worlds largest boat builders and has a grain appearance similar to mohagany which some builders varnish for show.

For working boats Okoume is most often used in combination with epoxy and fiberglass for strength giving a structure that can be stronger and lighter than plastic or fiberglass.

Okoume is perfect for small boats like dinghies or catamarans. It's lone quality is lightness and easiness of bending or torturing. Okoume is perfectly acceptable on a small sail boat, where weight is a big concern. It's a different matter on a cruise or work boat because of durability issues.

The tree itself is indigineous to west Africa and is a medium sized hardwood tree growing to 30 to 40 feet. It is a non-durable species with low decay resistance and moderate dimensional stability, the major use of Gaboon is in the manufacture of plywood.

HYDROCORE plywood in boat building is heavier, more durable, less expensive than Okoume and are good choices for under water line, transoms, hatch covers and anywhere that the lightweight advantages of other plywoods is not a concern because of it's durability.

Luan, Meranti, Lauan are the names associated with that of the shorea tree genus with over 150 species and are rainforest trees in the southeast Asia area of Philippines ie "phillippine mahagony"(is not magagony), Indonesia Malaysia. These plywoods are often used in boat repair because of their strength if available in BS 1088 grade are superior to US commercial domestic fir (domestic fir is new growth these days and porous) as well as being more flexible and does not have face plugs. The wood may be brittle so when cutting a good quality blade is recommended.

Sapele, Sapelli or Aboudikro is considered the best quality of marine plywoods and has excellent structural and physical properties making it a good option for hull construction. This tree is a native to tropical Africa, looks like mahogany and is used often as flooring or accent wood in commercial purposes. Sapelle plywood is bullet proof (and heavy) but prices are up there. It was the plywood used on plywood boats of the 1950s and a lot are still sailing.

EuroLite is a lightweight plywood used in boat building for interior applications such as cabinetry. The wood is European poplar. Not recommended for structural boat building.

Powerply is made of Gurjan hardwood that has a high amount of stiffness and strength a high impact strength and wear resistant. Powerply goes through a process of bonding with phenol foraldehyde resin as well as permanent preservative treatment making it resistant to marine decay. Powerply can also withstand wet and dry conditions alternatley and rot resistant. In certain delamination tests there was no delamination after 200 hours of boiling.

When shopping for plywood look for BS 1088 Plywoods and ask if the distributor carries a 10 Year Guarantee (norm) against delaminating, Building with plywood that is manufactured in accordance with this standard is widely specified in the Marine Industry.

photo courtesy of tiarescott's photostream

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photo courtesy of buildark

Plywood boat building is something my husband, Captain Morgan started at the tender age of 11 when a sailboat was given to him in major disrepair. He set up 2 sawhorses in his back yard and started his boat building skills by converting the sailboat into a 8 foot Sabot for fishing.

Little did he know this would be the beginning of a lifetime passion for fishing and boats!

Bill rallied all his neighborhood fishing buddies to help him complete his first plywood boat building success. They all had paper routes so they were flush with cash and ideas to get their own boat on the bay a mile away. The boat became on ongoing repair job, but after replacing the chins and strengthening the transom and adding 2 seats they had their first plywood boat project completed ready for fiberglass and resin.

They used exterior grade A/B 3/8" plywood because they could not afford marine grade for their boat building in those days. Then they all pulled their paper route money and bought a quart of the least expensive marine oil based paint they could find it just happened to be hot pink. Bill said you could see our boat in the harbor from just about anywhere.

Then the boys in all their infinite wisdom conjured up a plan that would allow them to tow their new plywood fishing boat to the bay behind their bicycles. They took the hard rubber wheels off an old hand truck and built a wooden trailer to pull the boat to the harbor. This idea left them stranded many times and was under continuous revision until finally the plan was a success.

The first engine was a 1 7/8 horsepower Neptune that was a collaborative effort of paper route, lawn mowing and window washing efforts for $15 from the local bait and tackle shop. "It was an antique but Larry Burns and I kept it running". It was a one cylinder engine with a piston about 2'' across that was a cocktail mixer and didn't make the boat go fast enough to get the water out so buckets were always handy.

So every morning 5 am after their paper routes the boys would make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches hook up the boat trailer to one of their bikes and head out for a day of fishing. Between bailing out the plywood boat they built and catching sharks in the bay in their hot pink boat they had built, summer through fall was sheer childhood bliss!

Today Captain Morgan has over 40 years of boating and fishing experience and remembers that hot pink boat that started it all fondly!

Ultrasimple Boat Building: 17 Plywood Boats Anyone Can Build

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photo courtesy of anzalone1

Before you purchase a large supply of plywood from your local distributor test the wood to make sure it was properly made and is good quality before you invest time and money in building your plywood boat.

Buy a sheet of plywood, count the number of plies ie; 7 for an 1/2" check for quality knots, discoloration splits. Now make sure that your glue lines are phenol (Phenol-Formaldehyde (PF) resin used in the manufacture of exterior plywood. This formula is based on biodegradable organic chemicals and has been specially developed for wood panels) which will appear a dark brown. Cut 10 4 X 4 inch squares and check for defects or voids with a chisel try to separate the plies to make sure that the glue is stronger than the wood.

Now lets boil all of the squares for a good hour to make sure no delamination occurs. Try to separate one of the squares with a chisel and make sure the glue lines are 80% stronger than the wood. Take out 3 of the squares and reboil the rest for another hour.

Take 2 of the boiled square and dry them in a oven at 120 degrees to make sure there is absolutely no delamination and do the chisel test on one of the squares to make sure the glue is strong by 70%

Now remove 2 of the re boiled squares and dry them completely in the oven at 120 degrees to make sure there is no delamination. Do the chisel test on one of the squares to make sure the glue is stronger than the wood by at least 65%.

If you are a bachelor your kitchen will be fine. If you are married make sure you air out the kitchen really well and clean up!

photo courtesy of Wonderlane

Plywood is considered the skin of your boat in boat building. It is what connects the skeleton of the boat and provides the strength and the outside surface of your boat. Choosing the correct plywood for building your boat is determined by the type of usage as well as how much use and the type of storage of the boat you decide to build.

All basic boat construction starts with a skeleton. The skeleton is placed and built on your jig and consists of the keel, the transom (or stern) the chins, ribs and finally the rails. This is the framework that the plywood will be attached to.

Plywood is compressed sheets of various forms of wood. There is also mahogany veneer which is beautiful for aesthetics but I strongly recommend against this unless you are in love with labor. Mahogany is extremely high maintenance and is not recommended for anyone who is actually going to put the boat in water.

Marine grade Douglas fir plywood made to the PS 1-95 is readily available and most boat builder's use 3/8" for its flexibility and ease of working with. Plywood sheets come in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4-inch thickness. US mills produce AB due to the quality of logs that are available these days. It's impossible to get A-A grade Marine Fir these days. Most US mills produce AB due to the quality of logs that are available which means it may have knots, but no knotholes. Fir tends to be more brittle than other woods and the permissible defects make CNC work a challenge. Even numbered plies make an unbalanced panel that is more likely to warp.

Marine-grade plywood made to the BS1088 standard is typically available in Okoume, although, Meranti, Sapele, Agba, Khaya, Makore, Moabi, Movingui, Sipo-Utile and other African and Southeast Asian species have been used. Permissible species must meet the durability requirements within the standard.

BS1088 calls for the same tropical hardwood species to be used throughout the panel; exterior glue (melamine or phenolic) for the core; no repairs on the faces; no core gaps or overlaps. BS1088 also requires an odd number of plies to be used. Regardless of the type of boat being made or application, using BS1088 plywood is by far easier to work with and priced competitively to the fir option.

Seasonal or weekend boats can get away with using construction grade exterior plywood or CDX. Construction grade plywood for boat building will cut costs considerably and is sufficient for boats that will be used in either salt or fresh water that are dry stored. This is for and kind of boat you choose such as a duck boat, bay skiff, small run-a-bouts, fishing boats for light bay or coastal use.

For boats that will have heavier usage and stored in the water the only plywood for your boat building should be marine grade. Marine grade plywood is high quality sheets of Douglas fir, Joubert okoume, and Hydro-tek meranti without knots that are laminated together with waterproof glue. Again the thickness recommended is 3/8 inch.

ALWAYS SEAL THE EDGES. Plywood dies by delamination of the edges. Rot fungus needs wood, oxygen and water for living; a good sealing deprives the fungus of oxygen and water. Monoethylene glycol is the best disinfectant before use with epoxy resin.

When building a plywood boat that will experience heavy usage such as rough water crossing, circumnavigating the globe or commercial fishing crosshatch construction or lap streaking is used. This involves layering your marine grade plywood at 45 degree angles and gluing together with weldwood glue. Ninety percent of these boats use 2 layers although there are plywood boat builders that use more. Weight is also an important factor.

Weight and horsepower ratio is imperative to get correct to prevent your boat from sinking. For instance a light boat with a high horsepower engine may not fare well in an emergency stop and be sunk by its own wake when it catches up with you. Basically just remember to properly ballast your boat with a high horsepower engine. Depending on where your stern is pointing a properly ballast boat won't swamp as easily by a passing wake anchored or en-route.

When considering which fasteners to buy that will hold your plywood to the skeleton of your boat they should be stainless steel screws as your number one choice. The number two and three choices for fasteners would be silicon bronze screws and copper marine nails (serrated edge nails) respectively. Note there is a huge difference between silicon bronze and brass. Brass should not be used.

Regarding the coast guard and your boat this is the general rule. Private boats don't have to be certified by the coast guard but a boat that will be carrying paying passengers must be certified each year.

Now that you have taken in all of the considerations of the grade of plywood involved in your boat building and a few other tips enjoy the process. There is nothing in the world like christening and the celebration of your new boat that you built on its first launch.

The tremendous satisfaction of knowing you built a boat from scratch is very rewarding. The thousands of dollars that you saved is also a good feeling. Oh, and the best part is having a beer with friends and automatically having bragging rights about your first plywood boat building adventures.

photo courtesy of Twaks "Pirate flags are the only sign of a true gentleman" was the caption under this great photo of a kewl shop.