captain red Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 8) Hi, I am a new member to this forum . I am going to build a vacationer and need to find best prices on plywood. I live in midwest 80 miles south of chicago. Are there any builders in Illinois? Thank you Captain red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Cox Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 Welcome abaord Captain Red. I am origanaly from your area. Lived in the Muncie area and went to collage in Kankakee. I've only been in Miami now for 2 1/2 years. Your best bet for marine ply is any good lumberyard. In the Muncie area you could find it at Furrows. I beleive they are in your area also. Carter lumber is another possibility. Some of the Home Depots have it as well. Down here they only carry the 1/2 and 3/4 inch 4 x 8 sheets. If there is a good mom and pop local lumber yard, make sure you check them out. Most often, these are the best sources of good lumber at reasonable prices. Now I know I'm going to hear some comments about this next paragraph but here goes. You will have your choice of types of marine ply but your best bet price wise is the Fir. You can get Mahogany, Okuma and many other types but the prices are cost prohibitave. Since you should be planning to fiberglass the plywood, there is no need to spend the kind of money the better marine plys would cost. The main thing to look for is a ply with no voids and water resistant glue. Many yards will call the ply an underlayment. What ever you find, you will find it stamped on the end of the sheet for use as an underlayment and meets marine standards. Or something like that. You've found a good place to find help answering your question, so don't hesitate to ask away and as you see I'm building the Vacationer as well. Bob 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hagan Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 You might check our FAQs out for a discussion of the difference between marine and "Exposure 1" plywood (which is what a lot of us have used). See the FAQ on wood and plywood by Clicking Here. Robert's right, especially if you're going to glass and epoxy the boat; cheaper fir "Exposure 1" plywood will work fine on a Weekender or Vacationer. The bends are not so severe that you need to worry too much about "fairness" as you bend the panels. And the fiberglass keeps the "checking" in place (fir plywood tends to crack, and paint or epoxy alone won't stop it, but fiberglass will). That being said, if you plan to keep your boat in the water in a slip, the more expensive marine plywood might be more appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Pyeatt Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 Welcome to the group. You will find a varied and diverse set of opinions on this forum but one real attribute due primarily to Frank's primary directive. Open discussion....but "be nice". Lots of different experience at a lot of levels. All seem very willing to share viewpoints and offer help. Don't be afraid to ask before you commit. But everyone respects that the decisions are yours to make. The only dumb question is the one that doesn't get asked. One of the differences that may or may not make a difference to you, but you should be aware of: Marine plywood has no voids on the interior laminations. Any plugs are not only face glued but edge glued as well resulting in a very solid and sound material. The lack of voids on the interior laminations means that there is little chance of moisture collecting and causing deterioration from the inside out. And one of the biggest differences is the 3/8" has 5 laminations vs. 3 in the construction grades. ACX may have small interior voids and the plugs are not edge glued. This material is just fine for these applications since it is being encapsulated in glass on the exterior and generally primed and painted on the interior surface. There is a great discussion on lumber that is suitable in the FAQ section as well with a link to the GlenL website for an excellent run down on suitable materials. Great lumber that can be used is generally available at most full service lumber yards, not necessarily at the Home Depots or Lowes type of stores. Where possible use clear lumber or with small tight knots. If available, (and not prohibitively expensive), nearly everyone would prefer to use vertical grain or quartersawn lumber. Try to avoid plain sawn or riff cut stock, it cups, warps, twists and often splits after you cut it. Just a pain when it comes to trying to work with it and bend it in two directions. Woods of choice are mahogany, spruce, doug fir, southern yellow pine and oak. Try to avoid, white pine, poplar and cedar. Although all of these are commonly available in one form or another, they don't hold fasteners well and have a tendency to split or go mushy when exposed to moisture. You can hand sort thru materials as long as you replace the ones you have moved in most yards. If they know what you are looking for and its usage, they will try to advise you correctly. In some cases you might have to order long stock for spars or keel. If not available, some builders have been known to laminate smaller stock into larger assemblies and they work, or have 2X stock plained down to 1X for the keel since 2X 12 material is commonly available for stairs. Good luck and we look for progress photos. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islands Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 Another welcome to the group, I also have been researching different plywood supplers, the very best buy I could find was in Northern califorina, A small yard there had the sizes we need starting at around $25.00 and up for the imported panels, Another source, would be Wooden Boat, they have several, ads for marine woods, and I belive there is one in your area, Good luck with your project, and please keep all of informed on how your toy is coming along Islands ( I think too much ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain red Posted March 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 Hi, I want to thank you guys for the help. I will go with the cheaper grade of wood since I plan on laminating the boat anyway. Captain red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hagan Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 Another welcome to the group' date=' I also have been researching different plywood supplers, the very best buy I could find was in Northern califorina, A small yard there had the sizes we need starting at around $25.00 and up for the imported panels[/quote']There is a source in Southern California someone pointed me to: Plywood and Door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwolstenholme Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 ATLANTIC PLYWOOD, MA, ME 800-360-3923 CONNECTICUT PLYWOOD, CT 860-953-0060 ROBERTS PLYWOOD, NY 631-586-7700 WOODFORD PLYWOOD, GA 229-883-4900 McEWEN LUMBER, NC 919-772-7550 SEAFARER MARINE, FL 954-763-4263 RIVERSIDE LUMBER, LA 504-242-6626 RARE EARTH HARDWOODS, MI 800-968-0074 HOUSTON HARDWOODS, TX 713-686-6176 FOREST PLYWOOD, CA - 714-523-1721 ALMAQUIST LUMBER, CA 707-668-5652 McBEATH HARDWOOD, UT 801-484-7616 CROSSCUT HARDWOOD, OR 503-224-9663 PLYWOOD TACOMA, WA 253-383-5571 WEST WIND HARDWOOD, BC 800-667-2275 LL JOHNSON LUMBER (MI) - 800-292-5937 SEAFARER MARINE (FL) - 954-763-4263 HOMESTEAD HARDWOODS (OH) 419-684-9582 E-BOAT (FL) - 772-770-1225 RUSSELL PLYWOOD - 610-374-3206 PLYWOOD & DOOR (IL) - 708-354-2155 STRAIGHT LUMBER (CO) - 303-366-3561 ML CONDON LUMBER (NY) - 914-946-4111 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisboats Posted January 27, 2010 Report Share Posted January 27, 2010 Illinois * Arlington Heights - Owl Hardwood Lumber, 1514 E Algonquin Rd, 60005, 312/439 5580 - L * Carterville - Chamberlain Marine, 115 Olive St, 62918, 618/985 6119 - L * Chicago - Charles Horn Lumber, 2440 S Damen Ave, 60608 312/847 7397 - L (Sitka sp) * Countryside - Plywood & Door, 6335 W Joliet Rd, 60525, 708/354 2155 - PW (Okoume) * Glenview - Wood World, 1719 Chestnut Ave, 60025 708/729 9663 - PW, L * Highland - Wicks Aircraft Supply (in the St. Louis metro area). - Mar PW, L (Sitka sp) * Paris - TA Foley Lumber Co, 1800 S Jefferson, 61944, 217/462 6180 - L * Sycamore - Hardwood Connection, 1810 W. State Street, 60178, 815-895-8733 - L From Glen-L web site...I do not know how recent or good the links and addresses are. L is Lumber, PW Plywood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Luckett Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Hi Captain Red, Welcome to our crew of boat builders. I live east of Chicago, about 80 miles around the bottom of the big lake, or 60 miles across the lake, in St.Joseph, MI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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