JEM Watercraft

Well, I have been searching the earth for good reasonably priced marine grade plywood to get this project started. I have the work area all set up and ready, but no wood. This was much harder than I expected. I am in Murrysville, PA 15668 and no one nearby sells the stuff. Today I gave up on finding it and picking it up myself, especially with today's gas prices. Looks like the best so far has been Noah's (http://www.noahsmarine.com), but I am still waiting on a shipping quote. They have two Okoume versions and I do not know the difference, can someone weigh in on the two options:

Bs1088 Okoume
A/B Okoume(gabon) face & core veneers. 1.3 mm face veneers (before sanding.) Equal or nearly equal laminations. WBP Gluelines. Light weight, excellent bending and finishing characteristics. Ideal for tortured ply & lap strake construction. 48" x 96" sheet size.
$39.00 per sheet

Bs6566 Okoume
B/BB Okoume(gabon) face & core veneers. 1 mm face veneers (before sanding.) Equal or nearly equal laminations. WBP Gluelines. Light weight, good bending and finishing characteristics. Ideal for tortured ply & lap strake construction. 48" x 96" sheet size.
$31.50 per sheet

did you try harborsales.net ?

yep, 48.60 per sheet. Not sure about shipping on that one. Says free to a business, but that I am not.

Well if it looks worth it, maybe look into someplace that will receive it for you.

If you'll spend more than $50 in gas, about 12 gallons x your MPG, I'dsuggest asking around to see if there's a local small business or school that will recieve it for you.

It comes in a big cardboard envelop. Shouldn't need a shipping dock.

Are you opposed to http://www.noahsmarine.com ? They have a cheaper price overall. I am guessing your recommendation of the other store comes from experience with their product.

I've gotten good service from Noah's. No particular preference for or against them or Harbor Sales.

The free delivery is just such a nice thing to get!

Mate,

Either ply type should be fine.

I would recommend ou buy one extra sheet, if you can afford it, - just in case you have an "accident." like I do - often also, if you can afford it, I would ask about price for a sheet of 4mm Luan - just to use for the temp frames /cockpit coamings etc.

This will serve two very valuable purposes.

1. You won't be cutting up your beautiful Okuome for things that such quality ply is not necessary.

2. You will get the opportunity to compare the two products, side by side and be in a better position to judge for yourself whether or not you want to build a boat with the cheaper ply.

Plenty of people here have built superb boats using the way cheaper Luan and the shipping cost of adding one or two more sheets to your order should be insignificant. You will ALWAYS find a use for your extra ply, even in the very unlikely event that you decide to build only one boat.

I would recommend you ring Noah's and ask to talk to somebody who knows what they are talking about. Ask them specifically, what the difference is that justifies the price difference between the two Okoume types.

BS1088 (British Standard 1088)
is defined by the following 4 basic requirements

1. Same species of wood throughout
2. WBP Phenolic or Advanced melamine resin glue line
3. No core gaps, some small pinhole gaps are accepted
4. Whole piece face and back, no spliced faces, allowed Grade is normally an A/B

BS6566 (British Standard 6566)

1. Wood can be mixed in species, normally the core will be different from the face.
2. WBP Phenolic or Type 1 Ext Melamine glue permitted
3. Some allowance of core gaps permitted, recommend filling any exposed edges before further encapsulation etc.
4. Faces can be made up of one or more pieces, spliced together. Grade of face is normally a B/C

The BS6566 is recommended where the wood is being encapsulated, or at least fully sealed.
It is not as structurally sound as BS1088, and does not pretend to be.
This also includes bending strength and modulus of elasticity.
Sometimes, the factory producing the 6566 will manufacture the plywood which will exceed the above conditions, (for example, they may put whole piece faces on just to complete production more quickly for an order that needs to be exported) Customers must be aware that at any time, grade must meet the above to be approved under BS6566 .

I also found this at another site:
Noah's Marine sent me this information.

"The only difference between the 6566 and 1088 is the face. The 1088 has no
voids in face, the 6566 has some. People use the 1088 if they are going to
do a clear finish, if you are going to paint the plywood i would use the
6566,it's cheaper. That's the only difference between the two."

Wow, thanks for all of that information. Lots of good stuff there. I was going to wait a bit to ask about finishing, but why not disucss it while I wait on my plywood order.

I was planning on painting the sides/bottom and not the top, just like the pictures on the JEM website for the Laker 13.

Mick - I love the colors of your finish in that picture, did you stain the top first? or is that color achieved by the bare wood wood and varnish?

Thanks!

Well. Bad news on harborsales.net. Even if I send it to a business they are asking for shipping of 131.79. Free shipping only comes into play once you are over a certain weight or price.

I finally got in touch with Noah's and they will ship for 92 plus 20 to package it.


So...for me the breakdown is as follows for 3 sheets of 4mm Okume:

Harbor sales = ~287 (only to a commercial address)
Noah's = ~ 237 for BS1088, and 217 for BS6566


Looks like Noah's it is, and why not spend the 20 extra for the 1088.