Loking for Plywood Sheets - Hunter Valley

[Rabbs]

Hi all I am wondering if anyone can assist me, I am looking for 5 sheets of 6mm plywood in the Hunter Valley. I have contacted a number of suppliers around and they either don't stock it or only have interior sheets and from what I have read and also been told I should really use Marine ply or exterior ply. Also another thing I have found with a number of suppliers is that they don't stock 6mm instead they have 7mm. Does anyone know if this will affect the workability of the ply?


Thank you all

[Daddles]

from what I have read and also been told I should really use Marine ply or exterior ply.

No, you should use MARINE PLY. The yanks can get away with exterior because they seem to have better exterior ply than we do but in Oz, get marine ply. Both exterior and marine use the same glue but the veneers are different standards and exterior is usually rubbish - three plys, very thick inner plys with very thin external, voids and other rubbish in the inner plys, I've even had ply with knots in the exterior plys.. Hell, even some cheap marine ply is rubbish so don't buy ply you can't inspect personally.

Pacific maple (a generic term that covers a lot of ground unfortunately) is usually the cheap option but you can sometimes find cheap gaboon (be very careful, there've been problems reported recently in the cheap stuff).

As for sources, I'll let the locals guide you.

I know you're trying to save money but be careful about going for crap ply - you add weight and can ruin the boat unnecessarily. I personally wouldn't go for cheap ply on a build the size of yours. Although the price of ply is scary but a careful, rational look the pricing will often convince you to pay a bit more for a better product - the plywood IS your boat and nothing you can do can change the results.

Richard

[Rabbs]

Thanks again Daddles (ya Grumpy old bugga lol) once again you have offered me some wise advice that I will use. Marine ply it is then. Cost is a factor unfortunately but that's all good it just means I will have to take little longer to get what I need.

[Dave Brewer]

-I plan on ordering the material for my next project,a pair of OneOcean sea kayaks, from Boatcraft:
http://boatcraft.com.au/Shop/index.p...index&cPath=56
Freight is very reasonable,range is good and they know their stuff.
Cheers,
Dave.

[Daddles]

Don't be scared of paying for freight - 8x4 sheets of ply are surprisingly hard to move around on your own, especially when you've got a stack of them. Mind you, I got the three sheets for my rowboat home on my roof racks. By the time you factor in petrol, time, trailer hire, bottle of booze for recovery purposes, etc, freight charges can be quite reasonable, though you do miss out on the chance to have a yarn with the bloke in the timber yard.

On the other hand, a pack of ply from a supplier often comes with a sacrificial sheet each side and cheap, thin ply is very useful stuff for patterns and the like - I know a bloke who scored two sheets that he would have had to buy at a greater cost than he paid in freight charges. You're not always quite that lucky but ...

Richard

[bagman]

Sheets of 8 x 4 ply are particularly hard to move if you try to use a small car !
My Ford Laser sedan carried all of my sheets but only after plenty of calculations so that I could get Boatcraft guys to cut them once into two chunks that would fit the car and the boat. Back seats down and a bit hanging out of the boot.
Nothing like paying for a full sheet then watching the guy cut it up !

[ausie]

Rabbs & Dave,

I usually buy my marine ply at Mr Ply & Wood here in Newcastle....they carry a range of good stuff usually but all in the upper price range,which is fine if you need top grade ply.I have always found them good to deal with.

I looked at the "Pink" marine(meranti) offer from Boatcraft in Brisbane & found I could get the same stuff from Trend Timbers at Windsor even cheaper than from Boatcraft!
The 6mm is about $43/sheet at Trend against $48 at Boatcraft.It is all 5 ply & 2440x1220.It has some tiny voids but fine for a simple boat like Ladybug.I have used it before to make a surf ski & a couple of canoes.

The Michalak "Ladybug" I am building calls for 6x6mm,1x9mm & 2x12mm sheets & all this cost me only $480 from Trend as against $525 from Boatcraft.Freight from Brisbane was $97 against $85 from Windsor,but I drove down last Friday with my box trailer & picked it up along with some other timber I needed for spars etc.The bundle of ply weighs about 100kg & carriers would have damaged it for sure, so it cost me only about 3/4 of a tank of fuel to get it myself.

If I had looked at this forum earlier I could have picked up some for both of you.

Trend owner Richard,who has a stand at all the wooden boat shows,& his staff are great to deal with & I recommend them.They have an amazing range of timbers.

They also have good okoume (gaboon) ply from Fiji ....there's a lot of crap from China around so beware if you decide to use that specie.Their 6mm gaboon is about $85+GST from memory.

Oh & Rabbs,the ply does not have to be exactly the thickness specified...small variations are unavoidable.

Al.

[Rabbs]

Hey Ausie,

Yeah completely forgot about Mr Ply & Wood I have bought stuff from him although t was years ago. It slipped my mind but I do know (now that I am thinking about it lol) that their prices are really good and if you give the plans they will cut everything for you as well for a fairly small charge

[Dave Brewer]

I used to get all my stuff from the West Gosford shop but it closed a couple of years ago,and had become pretty pricey.Interesting about Trend-didn't realise they sold ply.I'll check their Gaboon prices.
Dave.

[woodeneye]

I have been in touch with Mr Ply and Wood in Newcastle last week chasing Gaboon marine ply. They only have Hoop Pine marine ply in the metric sheets (2400x1200) but cannot supply Okoume/Gaboon ply at all, especially in the 2440x1220 size I needed.

[ausie]

Bruce,

Trend Timbers at Mulgrave,near Windsor in Sydney have Gaboon in 2440x1220....it's not cheap & I do not know where it comes from but they are great to deal with & will tell you straight if they feel if it is not up to standard.

The last Okoume/Gaboon I bought was from China, & was as heavy as hoop pine which is made here in Oz ,& of fairly ordinary quality.....the inner plies did not seem to be the same timber same as the outer plies.

I have recently bought some "Pink Marine" ply from Trend,& it is Meranti from Indonesia.....about 1/2 the price of most marine ply & while not perfect,is not too bad.I bought 6x6mm,1x9mm & 2x12mm for around $640!!....+ some lovely hoop pine planks which I have ripped into various sizes for framing timber.

I am doing a Michalak Ladybug & this plywood is just fine for this project.

Of course I had to drive down to get it with my box trailer but that is cheaper than having it trucked up & almost certainly damaged.As a bonus,it was packed up in a bundle with a sheet of 12mm mdf on the bottom & a sheet of 3mm mdf on top!This stuff is very useful,especially the3mm for making patterns.

go to: www.trendtimbers.com.au & make contact....they are easy to deal with & welcome small order from amateurs like us.

I should add that I have bought other species of marine ply from Mr Ply & Wood in the past,including good Gaboon, but it is usually stock left over from a large order from a professional boat builder.The hoop pine has always been nice stuff.

Al.

[woodeneye]

Thanks for the info Al, I'll keep this in mind

I have found a source of French made Joubert Gaboon marine ply, which I believe is top quality stuff. It is 2500x1220, which is a Joubert standard size. However, it is still en route to Australia, so won't know the final price until it lands. The importer is giving me a quote then. I'll have to pay for freight though, but I won't mind so much if the quality is good.

I'll let you know in due course

[Daddles]

I have been in touch with Mr Ply and Wood in Newcastle last week chasing Gaboon marine ply. They only have Hoop Pine marine ply in the metric sheets (2400x1200) but cannot supply Okoume/Gaboon ply at all, especially in the 2440x1220 size I needed.

Don't underestimate people like Duck Flats and that Queensland mob posting it to you - yes, there'll be costs but that's better than not getting it. If nothing else, it's worth asking if only so that you can have a therapeutic double scotch for the shock

Richard

[bloggs1968]

Thanks for the info Al, I'll keep this in mind

I have found a source of French made Joubert Gaboon marine ply,

I guess that would be me (Denman Marine). Should be about 6 weeks away. We will be the sole importer of Joubert Marine Ply into Australia.

I realise that this is a bit of commercial post but it probably benefits many of us who have tried to get decent ply in Australia in the last few years. I got sick and tired of trying to source decent gaboon marine ply in Australia. Most of it was stamped with an illegible smudged BS1088 and when we tried to get actual confirmation from suppliers that the ply was compliant they could not provide this.

I had actually switched over to using hoop marine (despite the weight penalty) for our last three boats as the quality in the imported gaboon was just not there.

This is the real deal as far as BS1088 compliant marine ply goes. Manufactured in France with gaboon/okoume throughout and is constructed to BS1088-1:2003. It carries Lloyds Register type approval and it will also carry FSC certification. (happy to supply evidence of either certification) We will have 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 25mm. Sheet size is 2500 x 1220.

see http://www.joubert-group.com/gamme_produit.php?id=383 for further info

Pricing will be a bit more than the other imported gaboon doing the rounds but well below hoop.

If anyone would like further information let me know via email.

Happy to offer discounts to forum members.

regards,

AD

[HaroldS]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Bruynzeel ( Bruynzeel Australia Pty. Ltd ) as a source for good quality plywood. I first used them back in the early 70's when I bought Gaboon from them for a 18' Stingray catamaran I was building. The quality of the ply was magnificent. In the 80's I used them again for another catamaran project I was building and again the Gaboon was outstanding quality and they scarfed it for at a very reasonable price. As I'm thinking of now building yet another cat, though this time bigger than an off the beach cat I will certainly be checking them out again. Other than being a very satisfied customer I have no affiliation with Bruynzeel Australia P/L.

regards Harry