Thread: hoop pine marine

G'day Richard, welcome to the board. I'll leave others to reply to your question on the ply. Have you already purchased the ply, and what boat are you intendiing to build?

soth

I have already purchased the ply. The boat is the 9'6" nutshell pram.

which was made of various Shorea species and imported from Malaysia, I believe.Never used Hoop myself as it has been more expensive and heavier than maple,but have only heard good things about it,so as he is an experienced professional, this bloke's opinion is interesting to hear.You can minimise splintering by such things as masking the sides of the cut,making the initial mark with a sharp knife and/or presealing with epoxy,and of course use a fine-toothed jigsaw blade or a Japanese saw for the work.I don't see how there'd be a problem with finishing once the components are cutout,after everything is sealed with epoxy and painted or varnished with the appropriate products and recommended numbers of coats.
Cheers,
Dave.

Just for the record, the OP is not the 'real' Richard from Adelaide, that sorry old cuss still works under the name of 'Daddles' and hasn't been hanging around the boat shed much of late

G'day mate. Drop us a pm if you want to meet up. My boat building hasn't moved much from what's shown on this forum so do a search and you'll know what I'm supposed to be up to. Sadly, my Yellowtail update thread is still pretty accurate (complete with broken rubbing strip).

As for the advice on hoop pine, it's utter rubbish and does the 'experienced boat builder' no credit. Hoop pine is a fine marine ply wood and in the past has been a more reliable ply than gaboon, the other 'expensive' choice, though I believe this has been turned around in recent years.

For what it's worth, the TAFE boat building school builds all its boats out of hoop because it is such a reliable, good quality and well priced ply wood.

I haven't come across 'Queensland Maple' but it's possibly the same as 'Pacific Maple' which is just a name for cheap, plantation grown marine ply of various sorts. That's one thing you'll find in this game, it's almost impossible for a casual buyer to keep track of what's actually in these timbers. Mik may have more to add.

I've got boats in my backyard built out of maple, hoop and gaboon. All marine plys. Do NOT use any of the exterior plywoods available here, they are universally rubbish though the yanks seem to be lucky enough to have some decent stuff available.

Of the three, Hoop has been the easiest and nicest to work with with none of the problems your 'expert' reports. It's cheaper than gaboon but also heavier. It tends to have a finer surface than gaboon and maple.

Gaboon is generally dearer than hoop but a lot lighter. Gaboon is also a nice ply to work with, a little softer perhaps but if you select ply with a good surface, you won't have any problems.

If you've got the money, gaboon is probably the best choice because it's lighter. Haven't said that, last time I looked at buying ply the price gap between hoop and gaboon had narrowed ... hmm ... and a check of the Duck Flats website suggests the price gap has disappeared. Shows how long it is since I bought ply.

Maple is a dirt cheap ply and it shows. The surface is not as good as the other two. The veneers aren't as nice and you are likely to find voids although you're not supposed to in marine ply. It builds a nice, cheap boat though and is a decent choice for something that you're not investing much in.

I've got boats made from all three here. The Yellowtail, still being built so the ply is raw, is hoop. I've probably got off cuts from all three. You're welcome to have a look and decide for yourself.

The cost of hull materials and the time required to make the hull are only a small proportion of the total. For something like your Nutshell, they're significant enough to consider using the cheap ply. However, if this boat really means something to you, it's worth paying a bit more for the better ply.

Richard

http://boatcraft.com.au/Shop/index.p...index&cPath=56
Prices have sure changed.Never thought I'd see the day when gaboon was equivalent or cheaper than maple.but Boatcraft are very choosy so maybe those prices aren't representative of the overall situation.Think I'll get an order in for some 3mm gaboon for a couple of sea kayaks before things change again.The maple I've bought in the past has always been good but then it was always the same brand,first from Scruffie when they were selling it and then through a local shop which closed a couple of years ago-wasn't that much cheaper than hoop though.
The bronzeware for my Yellowtail started turning up this week,hopefully the last package(including the screws to secure it all with) will arrive in the next few days.
Cheers,
Dave.

Apart from the above comments (I agree that Hoop is a nice board) be aware of the size difference.

All of the others follow the traditional 8ft x 4ft sheet size - works out to 2440 x 1220mm.

But Hoop is 2400 x 1200 for some reason. I once asked whether it was for the housing trade and was told most Gyprock/Plasterboard is 8 x 4 as well.

Anyway, some boats may not fit economically on the Hoop Pine sheets.

The most likely ones that will cause probs are "stitch and glue" types where everything is usually laid out pretty close on the sheets. Or boats built on strongbacks where the size uses up close to the full 1220 width.

MIK