Trying to find marine grade wood in the southeast

I live in Alabama, near Birmingham, and I'm having trouble finding marine grade plywood for a decent price. So far it has been about $100 a sheet, which is just too much for my budget. Does anyone have any good alternative suggestions? I've read about using pressure treated, but From what I've read that doesn't sound like a good option. The few options I have locally are birch, red oak, and southern yellow pine. I do plan on fiberglassing/epoxy everything if that helps your input. Thanks for any advice you can give.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on March 5, 2015 at 3:24am

Scott: Looks like you are in a tough spot.  Probably the red oak and  birch are the cabinet grade stuff we see in the usual big box stores.  What I have used for desks, shelving, etc. Has internal cores of cheaper wood like poplar with a thin skin of oak,birch,  I would not consider using this stuff since one good hit can damage the skin and let moisture into the core.  Also these cores are 1 or 2 plys and trying to bend this might be difficult and the cores may have some big voids.  Take a look at the SYP-  Check out each edge of the sheet to see if it has any visible voids- this is where you get failures when bending. If the sheets have odd number of plys  it might be OK  and each ply is the same  thickness.  Since you will "glass" the hull footballs are OK as long as there are not too many of them. This exterior grade SYP has waterproof glues and are fine .  Others here on the site might have better advice.

Good

Permalink Reply by Scott M. on March 5, 2015 at 4:08am
Thanks, Lawrence. I had the same thought about the birch and red oak being cabinet grade and not exterior. I'll keep looking since I'm definitely not ready to give up on the project yet.
Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on March 5, 2015 at 5:41am

The type of hull you are building might also develop problems.  David Z's prams appear to have moderate bends but the Peapod I built has severe bends.  Keep us posted as to your progress. I have used some DF PW with small voids to build a simple flatbottom skiff by cutting out the panel and then gluing "slivers" into the visible voids.

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Permalink Reply by Scott M. on March 5, 2015 at 6:08am

I completely forgot to mention the type of boat I'm planning on building.  I finally decided on the Mackenzie double ender with a transom from Fletcher's book.  The sides have some decent bend, but nothing crazy.  Like I said, I'm going to keep digging since this a project I've wanted to do for several years.  Thanks again, Lawrence.

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on March 5, 2015 at 7:32am

The issue with non-marine-grade plywood is it may have voids within it and that the glue holding it together may fail when subjected to moisture. I understand that you are planning on coating your materials with epoxy. Any intrusion, hole, dent, screw, nail or exposed edge that looses its coating or allows moisture to enter the plywood may allow the plywood to fail. When you spend $3,000 or so on your boat you probably want to avoid having the foundation, the plywood fail. While $100 a sheet is expensive a $60 sheet of plywood that may fail isn't a bargain. I understand your issue, it took me four years to scrape together the money to build my boat, buying things as I could afford them. The end result was worth the time and effort and I plan on my boat lasting a long time.

Here is an online source to help locate wood: http://www.woodfinder.com/

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by Scott M. on March 5, 2015 at 9:43am

Thanks, Rick.  I completely agree with what you said.  I'm not willing to use sub-par wood for the same reasons that you stated.  I know this will be a labor of love, and I would hate to have it ruined by using the wrong materials.

Permalink Reply by Scott M. on March 5, 2015 at 9:47am

Good news! A local friend of mine who does a lot of woodwork directed me to a specialty supplier.  The best part, is that the price is pretty decent, about $60/sheet for marine grade plywood.  The first hurdle has been jumped, and now I feel better about ordering the plans and actually beginning the work.  It will be a little while before I can, but at least I know I'll have access to the right supplies. Thanks for the advice.

Permalink Reply by John Woodward on March 5, 2015 at 3:06pm

Scott:   I too live in Alabama. I live in the Florence area in the northwest part of the state and share your problems with locating a source of marine plywood and lumber.  Would you care to share the source that you have found.  Thanks

Permalink Reply by Riverman on March 5, 2015 at 3:44pm

I can get all the marine and Meranti plywood that I want in GA (cheap too)...   let's build some boats guys.  I have the plans. My friend has TONS of dried cypress and white oak lumber.

Permalink Reply by Scott M. on March 5, 2015 at 5:15pm
That would be great, Riverman. I had thought about using some cypress, but wasn't real sure since it seems easy to get poor quality boards. I would be interested in the other wood too. Anyway I can save money on the project without sacrificing quality is good for me. It will only help me convince my wife that this won't be too expensive of a project. What part of GA are you in?
Permalink Reply by Scott M. on March 5, 2015 at 5:11pm
John: I talked to Hardwoods Incorporated. They have a location in Alabaster, south of Birmingham, and some others near Franklin, TN that mght be closer to you. Here's the number for their Alabaster store: 205-664-0224. I googled them to get some more info, and the guy I talked to at the store was very helpful and friendly. He knew a lot more about wood than I do, which isn't a whole lot. I'm sure they can help, and their prices we fair. Hope this helps
Permalink Reply by John Woodward on March 5, 2015 at 5:40pm

Thank you Scott, I will give them a call. Yes you are correct Franklin TN is a easy drive for me.

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