New guy with three build questions?

[Mayne]

Well my boss is very flexible with me and my projects
ei: letting me restore my 65 sportster, and there are bene's
otherwise. But.... I try not to overstep if I don't have to.
If I do build, I will definatly go for the marine ply and sealer
coats. I have time to mull it over, as I still have to check out
The Teardrops in Auburn.

[Bucko6]

Go for the build. Not only will you have the satisfaction of having done it yourself, you can spread out the cost. If you buy, you lay out a big chunck of change at one time. If you build, you spread the cost out over the duration of your build. It hardly hurts at all that way!

[CARS]

I used baltic birch plywood on one of my builds. Even with CPES on the endgrain, it wasn't enough to keep the plywood from delaminating.

So my first choice in plywood would be a marine plywood, expecially if you are not going to cover it in aluminum.



Mike...

Damn! I just bought 3 sheets of baltic birch, 7 ply 3/4" for my sides....

Oh well, I seem to be changing my mind every day about the build so if it fails I will just build another one!

[Deryk the Pirate]

Mike how long did it take for it to happen?

[john warren]

exterior grade plywood, and marine plywood use the same adhesive.

marine grade has no voids. unfilled knot holes or gaps in the inner ply.

with ether, once sealed as you are speaking of, there should be no problems at all.

i have been sailing a boat for 6 years now made of exterior plywood and it shows no signs of problems,

[john warren]

i believe the baltic birch is interior grade, mostly meant for cabinet making. the adhesive is not meant for moist areas. even moisture soaking in threw the ply side can cause it to delaminate eventualy.

pretty wood, but if i were using it outside i would encapsilate it in fiberglass.
at the very least seal it with fiberglass resin.

[mikeschn]

Mike how long did it take for it to happen?

Two winters out in the weather was all it took.

And yes, John Warren is right, the baltic birch is an indoor wood.

From now on, I will use outdoor wood!!!

Mike...

[CARS]

Mike how long did it take for it to happen?

Two winters out in the weather was all it took.

And yes, John Warren is right, the baltic birch is an indoor wood.

From now on, I will use outdoor wood!!!

Mike...

I did finally "stretch my wood" today. My 3/4" baltic birch is actually 11, very thin layers.

Thankfully, I am experienced in fiberglass... I better just coat/dip this stuff!

[john warren]

flipside is,,,that birch is pretty stuff and worth the effort to seal it.

[cracker39]

As with ANY "build"..it takes time,patience,help,skill,perseverence,and money.
AND..sumtimes the "boss" ain't always RIGHT !
If you build...the "boss' always knows where you are,what yer doin,who yer with...
AND...sumtimes the "destination" isn't as important as the JOURNEY !
"I" bought a "salvage" project and spent many a day/nite buildin and then rippin it out...the journey...and in the end.."I" love it !
Do what YOU wanna do...cause even YOU need to be happy !!

I hope we're not hijacking the thread. But, I agree with these comments. Especially about the "destination" isn't as important as the JOURNEY I'm the happiest when I'm designing something to build and then building it. I probably won't be doing much camping after I finish the PT, but I'm having my fun watching it come together, piece by piece.

I've used luan and BC plywood. If I should last long enough to build another, I'll probably buy cabinet grade hardwood plywood such as poplar that is really smoothed grain. My sealer is 2-3 coats of polyester resin, followed by two coats each of latex primer and latex porch and deck enamel. It holds up well.