JEM Watercraft

Many thanks for the tips I will bear them in mind tmrw.

That ply looks really good, helped of course by the brilliant finish Mick Depending on the quality of the wood will help me decide how to finish the exterior - but thats a long way off yet!

Gaffers

Went to see the chap at B&Q - he was extremely helpful, talked me through how he would do the cutting which was not by CNC but by hand with some very precise cutting machinery but not computer controlled.

He also put in the direction of a boatbuilders with a CNC machine who quoted me 862 quid all in for marine ply cut to the plans by CNC.

The bloke at B&Q quoted about 250 quid all in for the WBP exterior ply cut manually. He appeared very comfident that he could cut it perfectly and I have no doubt he would cut it better than I could by hand.

Decisions decisions.... any ideas, help?

Tough to make a judgement on price without knowing which model/plans you're looking to build.

At around US$500 just to mark and cut the panels, he would want to be good.

No matter what boat you are thinking of, that sounds very dear to me. If it for a fairly simple build like the Merrimac, with not many different panels, the price is outrageous. IMHO

Sorry, might have slightly misled you with the wording, the 250quid was including the wood.

The model was for the 17' Sea Scout plans. I have also purchased the Dingy Vee plans. My current train of though is get teh cheaper guy with the exterior ply to cut the wood for the vee, see how it goes and plan to build the Sea scout next year.

Much more sensible I thinks......

Hi Gaffers
roughly 180 quid for ply and 70quid for cutting from b+q
70 quid for cutting 15 panels seems cheap to me,thats if I got the right boat
Good luck with Your build

I know, as I said he seemed very helpful. But rather than take the risk with a larger more complicated (and more expensive boat) I think I will do a trial with the smaller 5 sheet dingy vee which will cost about 50 quid for the wood fully cut.....!

If he does a good job I will go back for the sea scout later next year!

G'day Gaffers,

Sorry mate, I thought you were talking about a canoe.

Something like a Sea Scout is a diferent proposition altogether. Another possibility that might be worth considering.

If there is a cabinet maker in your area, try taking the plans to him and ask if he would be interested in marking out and cutting your panels. They work to very fine tolerances and good cabinetmakers are true craftsmen. Brittain has some of the best in the world. Many would normally relish the opportunity and challenge to work with some curves instead of straight and square cuts that they normally do.

Thats a good idea, never thought about that one. But thinking retrospectively that is prob why this chap from B&Q was so willing to cut the wood for as it would have been different from the squares he usually cuts..

$50 AUS per sheet per cut isn't too bad, assuming the ply is decent quality.

One option might be to have him do it on some cheap plywood and the you use those as patterns on some better quality stuff.