Marine plywood

[Volkswatson]

Apparently, googling for marine plywood is a fine art in Texas, or I just don't know where to look.
Anyone know a good place to find some marine ply to rebuild some setee and V berth structure? I'm trying to stay away from the PT stuff at big boxers, and also not have to drive a long way to get it.
Can one of the big box stores order it in, or ? Need some wisdom.
I'm not trying to start another plywood debate here, I just want to know where I can find some decent marine wood.

 

[Will Gilmore]

If you are just looking for a standard fir or generic marine grade wood and not a visual show piece, the box stores can order it. Most don't know it comes in other species. I would check for local boat builders or marinas that do repair work. They may be able to point you to a better source. The box stores are not always the cheapest. They just are good art making the public believe they are.

http://www.kemah-hardware.com/lumber-yard-houston-galveston-kemah.php

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[HMT2]

Houston Hardwoods is where I get mine. A long way from Tyler, but soon you can come to H-town and watch the World Series Champs and make a weekend of it! My future son in law is from Tyler and gets back and forth from there quite a bit. If you just need a sheet or two (they also sell half sheets) I might can send him up there with it. PM me if that might help you. FWIW their website is pretty meh,...but pick up the phone and call them and they are super helpful. They also have a variety of teak lumber. http://www.houstonhardwoods.com/mobile/

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Whatever you do the use of marine ply, teak and so on is important as regular wood untreated of course will be adversely affected over time

 

[JimInPB]

I had similar trouble locating good quality marine ply in my area, so I replaced my rotted berth boards with 1/2" starboard (marine grade HDPE from King). The HDPE a little heavier & a little less rigid, but it will be rot-free forever.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I have done that replacing with starboard but that was costly unless you could find scrap cheap at boat yards.

 

[JimInPB]

Yea, it wasn't cheap.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#9785T261
I had to pay truck freight shipping on top of that. The freight charge was like $75 for 1 48" x 96" sheet on a skid or $85 for 4 sheets on 1 skid. I ended up making a lot of cutting boards for friends after that project was done. There may be better sources to buy it from.

 

[Drew13440]

There's a small marine services industry around Shreveport. You might call around to some of those businesses. If they haven't got it on hand, they'll know where to find it. Good luck.

 

[JamesG161]

I would use top grade regular plywood and seal it in polyurethane varnish, as long as it doesn't see sunlight too often.
Jim...

 

[SFS]

I used regular exterior plywood, stained it, and encapsulated it with 3 layers of epoxy. Any voids in the edges were filled with thickened epoxy. The material was a LOT cheaper.

 

[Volkswatson]

I’ve considered this — was planning to seal it either way, but I read the PT stuff doesn’t take well to epoxy, & lacks the strength of marine ply...

Granted, this is all forum browsing info, so please feel free to educate me!

 

[JimInPB]

PT?

 

[Volkswatson]

Yeah, it will be used to rebuild the structure under the v berth and some under the cockpit, so I’ll need the strength.

 

[Volkswatson]

Pressure Treated

 

[Volkswatson]

Houston Hardwoods is where I get mine. A long way from Tyler, but soon you can come to H-town and watch the World Series Champs and make a weekend of it! My future son in law is from Tyler and gets back and forth from there quite a bit. If you just need a sheet or two (they also sell half sheets) I might can send him up there with it. PM me if that might help you. FWIW their website is pretty meh,...but pick up the phone and call them and they are super helpful. They also have a variety of teak lumber. http://www.houstonhardwoods.com/mobile/

Yeah I don’t think I’d need much. Do they come 4x8?

 

[HMT2]

Yes 4x8 sheets. They also have teak vaneer if you want it to be pretty.

 

[Will Gilmore]

I had to pay truck freight shipping on top of that. The freight charge was like $75 for 1 48" x 96" sheet on a skid or $85 for 4 sheets on 1 skid.

And you couldn't find that deal for marine plywood available in Florida?

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Bill Roosa]

The only thing that makes Marine grade plywood marine grade is the glue they use for the laminates and it has the same lower void ratio that cabinet grade plywood has. If you can find a way to seal (2 coats of epoxy!) the entire piece after you get it cut out to include the screw holes you can use regular cabinet grade plywood.

 

[Will Gilmore]

If you can find a way to seal (2 coats of epoxy!) the entire piece after you get it cut out to include the screw holes you can use regular cabinet grade plywood.

Bill is right about what makes marine grade plywood. Sealing non-marine plywood doesn't exactly work as well, though. Almost nothing seals so well that cabinet grade plywood will perform as well as marine grade when constantly wet or rewetted. That said, Bill's point is fair enough for any interior cabin work. Kitchen countertops typically experience more exposure to moisture than cabinetry down below on a boat. A standard exterior grade plywood is good enough, not cabinet grade, for laminate kitchen counters. Not cabinet grade because it's too expensive. Having worked in plenty of cabinet shops from NH to FL. I can tell you there is way too much particle board being used in kitchens.
If you are rebuilding structure that sits partly in the bilge, then try solid wood. It's lighter than plywood and doesn't delaminate. If it needs to be dimensionally more stable, you can glue up three layers, like giant core plywood, using marine grade epoxy.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[jmce1587]

VW and Mike T

Will’s link to Kemah hardware is good also. They and Houston hardwoods both carry marine grade plywood.

Good luck.