Marine ply and epoxy supplier ATL

[Kyle Ibsen]

I’m looking at starting a boat build but am having a heck of a time finding an okoume/meranti/any marine ply supplier around ATL. Particularly on the south west side of ATL. Does anyone know of a supplier in the area? 

[Oyster]

Give Peachstate Lumber In Kennesaw  for starters. They advertise hardwood plywoods. You can call Atlanta Hardwoods and ask them if they have access to the marine plywood. I am not sure if they sell it, but may direct you to the right outlet . 

[Bryan Rolfe]

I get all my epoxy online. You can order the Totalboat stuff directly off Amazon if that's what you decide to use. 

Okoume may be hard to find locally in general, but I'm not familiar with the ATL area. You may have to order a stack and have it delivered. 

[Oyster]

B&B sells epoxy and supports small business.  Did you call the two outlets to check on the plywood?

[Don Silsbe]

I live in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina.  This is also my problem.  I usually make a trip to B&B.  Most always happens in late October…

 

My neighbor just had a gallon and a half kit sent to his house.  He was delighted with the cost.

[Kyle Ibsen]

On 5/15/2025 at 2:16 PM, Oyster said:

B&B sells epoxy and supports small business.  Did you call the two outlets to check on the plywood?

I did. Peachstate can order it in if more than 20 sheets is required. GA Hardwoods, who I’ve used in the past for cabinet work, carries Trident Marine plywood which she said was a Kedondong variety? Only in 1/2” and 3/4” Trident Marine’s website info says it’s meranti. Couldn’t get ahold of a person at ATL hardwoods. 
 

Good call on the epoxy kits. I may end up just ordering everything from B&B and making the pilgrimage. I kind of want to challenge myself with laying out and cutting everything myself rather than the CNC kit just for the learning. Hoping to start with a Marissa build. 

[Captain Tim]

If you are going to do all the work of cutting out all the pieces and building the boat, you will be happiest at the end if you use Okuome plywood. 

[Kyle Ibsen]

19 hours ago, Captain Tim said:

If you are going to do all the work of cutting out all the pieces and building the boat, you will be happiest at the end if you use Okuome plywood. 

Thanks Captain Tim, I have some wood working experience, so my thought is that laying out and cutting everything myself would offer some learning regarding design/layout for boats in general, I assume. Still open to the kit for a first build though. Would love suggestions on this… both on how to go about it and whether Marissa would be a good starter. 

[Oyster]

41 minutes ago, Kyle Ibsen said:

Thanks Captain Tim, I have some wood working experience, so my thought is that laying out and cutting everything myself would offer some learning regarding design/layout for boats in general, I assume. Still open to the kit for a first build though. Would love suggestions on this… both on how to go about it and whether Marissa would be a good starter. 

I tell newcomers to boat building, even when they own a shed full of tools and have messed about with wood to go in a different direction from starting out cutting high end woods. A good practice that I still employ for custom parts or even normal parts like bottom and side panels  is to create patterns from big box store 1/4" plywood.  Buy the cheapest door skin or Sure Ply, which is a few dollars more. This is best teaching degree that you will get and be ahead of the game from a lot of other first time builders.

 

But all of this stuff saves you a load of money before buying the good marine grade type plywood and making cutting mistakes. If this direction gives you grief and overwhelms you when sitting things up correctly, then go a different direction like a kit.  You are only a day away from the kit builder and shipping these days can be costly while handing bulk items, depending on trucking company accessibility can create other obstacles. 

 

And remember, the steps are the same as it relates to building the boat with common woods versus good woods.  But common woods can create a lot of extra work, if done properly for a good final job.  And if you pick up a kit in person, you can pick up your epoxy too, saving you shipping costs in the process, at a decent price.  While you are at the shop, I bet they have something hanging around the place that you can row, sail and possibly capsize , getting you indoctrinated to somewhat salty water, if you have never experienced that feeling and smell either. LOL

[Kyle Ibsen]

1 hour ago, Oyster said:

I tell newcomers to boat building, even when they own a shed full of tools and have messed about with wood to go in a different direction from starting out cutting high end woods. A good practice that I still employ for custom parts or even normal parts like bottom and side panels  is to create patterns from big box store 1/4" plywood.  Buy the cheapest door skin or Sure Ply, which is a few dollars more. This is best teaching degree that you will get and be ahead of the game from a lot of other first time builders.

 

But all of this stuff saves you a load of money before buying the good marine grade type plywood and making cutting mistakes. If this direction gives you grief and overwhelms you when sitting things up correctly, then go a different direction like a kit.  You are only a day away from the kit builder and shipping these days can be costly while handing bulk items, depending on trucking company accessibility can create other obstacles. 

 

And remember, the steps are the same as it relates to building the boat with common woods versus good woods.  But common woods can create a lot of extra work, if done properly for a good final job.  And if you pick up a kit in person, you can pick up your epoxy too, saving you shipping costs in the process, at a decent price.  While you are at the shop, I bet they have something hanging around the place that you can row, sail and possibly capsize , getting you indoctrinated to somewhat salty water, if you have never experienced that feeling and smell either. LOL

Great suggestion! I suppose, as you suggest, one could layout and cut templates for all the major parts from the plans and even go so far as to set it up before ordering costly marine ply. 
This brings up another rookie question I’ve had which is, is it necessary to use marine ply on a fully glassed hull? I understand longevity wise if damage were to happen, common materials would break down faster… is that what you meant by a lot of extra work? 

[Oyster]

Standard big box plywood is normally heavier, has voids in the inner cores and to generate a good finish it requires a lot more fairing, translating to more material cost, more hours . Of course some people seek out different levels of finish and levels of paint products. When you are done with the hull, your performance sometimes suffer from the design criteria.. Big box plywood does not bend in the same manner as dedicated marine grade plywood either. So you will struggle , in some cased even breaking in critical bending area. Of course the planned build may not experience this. But the surface of big box plywood is horrible. 

[Captain Tim]

When I ordered my plans for a Spindrift 11', I was able to order full paper templates. If you are good with saws, block plans and step by step instructions you will do just fine. What I meant about the plywood is that it does make a difference in the end product. The extra upfront cost will pay dividends in the end. I think B & B will sell you the okoume plywood in full sheets.

I think making the hull and deck is probably only 10% of the whole project. The closer you get to the end the more work there seems to be.

[Don Silsbe]

On a boat with as many parts as the Marissa, I would hesitate to sign up for measuring and cutting.  It will more than double your build time.  That’s fine if you’re more of a builder than a boater,, but I’ll bet you’d actually want to use this boat sooner rather than later.  Just my opinion.  I also believe the Marissa is one helluva boat.

[Kyle Ibsen]

9 hours ago, Don Silsbe said:

On a boat with as many parts as the Marissa, I would hesitate to sign up for measuring and cutting.  It will more than double your build time.  That’s fine if you’re more of a builder than a boater,, but I’ll bet you’d actually want to use this boat sooner rather than later.  Just my opinion.  I also believe the Marissa is one helluva boat.

Thanks Don, 

Yes, using the boat is definitely a high priority  I think the building of it is also part of the joy of the journey as well. I'm looking forward to jumping into it. Still obviously new to a lot of this and trying to get as much of my head wrapped around it as possible before jumping in with both feet. I can tend to get paralysis by analysis though, so I don't want to spend more time thinking about it than actually doing something about it. Plus, I hope to involve my son in the build, and I don't want him to be moving out of the house before we're able to enjoy the fruits of our labors. 

Great suggestions. 

[Don Silsbe]

@Kyle Ibsen— First-time builders should watch Alan Stewart’s excellent series on building a Core Sound 15.  It is full of all the best practices for building stitch and glue boats, even powerboats.  I think all of us refer to it from time to time, regardless of experience level.  It is textbook.

 

[AmosSwogger]

Even for experienced woodworkers I would still recommend a kit. 

 

When you get stuck on a problem or are unsure what step to do next, the kit eliminates one variable making the whole process smoother.  There will still be plenty of opportunity to cut and layout your own parts as the kit doesn't include everything. 

 

Something I didn't know which made me glad I bought a kit is that the CNC marks the parts with layout lines so you know where parts intersect.  Having to measure and lay those lines out yourself would be a lot of work.  The "pen" in the CNC does that for you saving a you a ton of fussy measuring work.

[Kyle Ibsen]

On 5/26/2025 at 4:27 PM, AmosSwogger said:

Even for experienced woodworkers I would still recommend a kit. 

 

When you get stuck on a problem or are unsure what step to do next, the kit eliminates one variable making the whole process smoother.  There will still be plenty of opportunity to cut and layout your own parts as the kit doesn't include everything. 

 

Something I didn't know which made me glad I bought a kit is that the CNC marks the parts with layout lines so you know where parts intersect.  Having to measure and lay those lines out yourself would be a lot of work.  The "pen" in the CNC does that for you saving a you a ton of fussy measuring work.

Great Suggestion Amos, 

Thanks! This helps my decision-making process a ton. I'm often guilty of biting off more than I can realistically chew which I know can slow down a project and cause a lot of frustration and burn out down the road, so I think the kit is probably the way to go for me, especially given that sourcing the ply locally is going to be a challenge anyway. 

[Kyle Ibsen]

On 5/26/2025 at 10:46 AM, Don Silsbe said:

@Kyle Ibsen— First-time builders should watch Alan Stewart’s excellent series on building a Core Sound 15.  It is full of all the best practices for building stitch and glue boats, even powerboats.  I think all of us refer to it from time to time, regardless of experience level.  It is textbook.

 

Thanks Don, 

Now I have something else to binge on YouTube  

[Hirilonde]

I built 3 B&B boats, lofting the 2 stitch and glue ones myself, and spiling the planks of the Lapwing myself. There is a rather dimented satisfaction in doing so, but if I were to do it again I think I would get over it.

[Don Silsbe]

There is definitely satisfaction in the lofting process, but it comes at a price— time.  I’m happy to see that Kyle is leaning toward the kit, albeit for plywood sourcing issues.

 

@Kyle Ibsen— If you’re still considering a scratch build, do this.  Buy a set of plans, and a sheet of underlayment from Lowes.  Select  a sheet with a variety of parts on it.  Lay them out on the underlayment, and cut them out.  Keep in mind that you should always cut wide of the line, and sand down to it.  Note the amount of time you’ve spent doing this, and multiply this by the amount of parts it will take to build your Marissa.  (And the Marissa contains a lot of parts!). If you buy a kit, all you need to do is sort through the stack to find the correct part.  Now, stand back and compare the satisfaction factor of measuring and cutting process to the time saved.  Only you can decide which is the way to go.  Doing this process does take extra time, but you can use those underlayment parts for full-size patterns, if you go with a scratch build.

By the way, most of my boats were scratch builds.  My preference would be to do a kit if there are many parts (such as a Marissa) or the shapes are complicated (such as in glued lap construction).