dcteague Posted May 12, 2020 Report Share Posted May 12, 2020 (edited) I'm going to build a SOF and found the Kudzo site and purchased the Vardo, and am now wondering if maybe its the wrong one. I'm 5'8", about 170lbs, and kayak periodically but not a lot. I'm buying my wife a strip built I found and came across the SOF designs in the research and thought this might be a good companion kayak to have for us to go together. We kayak locally in MA, and will spend most of our time on Moosehead lake in ME, which can be a bit rougher conditions than flat late/streams locally. Anyone have any thoughts on this being a good option for touring and an occasional fishing kayak - was planning to build in a hatch for storage. Also, I'm close enough to Boulter Plywood in MA, who has both baltic birch and good marine ply, as well as a range of other types of marine grade plys - Sapele, Merranti, teak, cherry, mahagony, foam core - I'd like to buy the lightest and hardiest type for this kayak and wanted to see if anyone had recommendations. Given the size needed, the cost differences are so minimal I'm not concerned about an extra $100 on good quality ply. Edited May 12, 2020 by dcteague Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy00 Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Dear Bay Stater: Consensus is that Baltic birch plywood is the best material for frames, although other types of plywood will work. BB is strong, stable, and it cuts clean, compared to other plywoods. I hope that other forum members will weight in on this. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcteague Posted May 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2020 Better than a traditional marine ply, Okoume? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted May 15, 2020 Report Share Posted May 15, 2020 12 hours ago, dcteague said: Better than a traditional marine ply, Okoume? I wouldn't call Okoume traditional, but it it the best plywood of all for boats. The consensus here is that you don't need to spend that much money though. This is particularly true in the US. The Okoume will be lighter and as strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcteague Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 On 5/15/2020 at 8:49 AM, Hirilonde said: I wouldn't call Okoume traditional, but it it the best plywood of all for boats. The consensus here is that you don't need to spend that much money though. This is particularly true in the US. The Okoume will be lighter and as strong. Thanks - the Okoume is only $10 more than the BB so guess I'll stick with the Okoume then since its lighter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 8 hours ago, dcteague said: Thanks - the Okoume is only $10 more than the BB so guess I'll stick with the Okoume then since its lighter. Either you have a really good price on the Okoume, or a high price on the BB. Regardless, you won't regret your choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted May 17, 2020 Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 On 5/12/2020 at 12:42 PM, dcteague said: Anyone have any thoughts on this being a good option for touring and an occasional fishing kayak - was planning to build in a hatch for storage. This is exactly what the boat was designed for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcteague Posted May 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 On 5/16/2020 at 5:44 PM, Hirilonde said: Either you have a really good price on the Okoume, or a high price on the BB. Regardless, you won't regret your choice. Its $105 a sheet of 4x8 and BB is $95. Not sure how that compares to other sources. On 5/16/2020 at 10:07 PM, Kudzu said: This is exactly what the boat was designed for. Excellent - just waiting on the designs then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 That is a good price for Okoume 12mm, maybe a tad high for the BB (assuming 4x8). Compared to my area anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcteague Posted May 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2020 New problem to solve - I can get either 5/8" Meranti, or 3/8" Okume, after talking to them they were out of the BB. Thinking I could do the Meranti and narrow the frames a little to lose a bit of the weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.