Today was a cut day, which means I have run out of strips for the boat, so I take full 4’x8′ sheets of marine plywood and cut them down into the right size strips. Today I am cutting narrow 1 1/2″ strips for the fore and aft stripping and thick 6″ strips for the midship.
All of these sheets of plywood are 1/4″. By themselves they are not that heavy, but for efficiency sake I gang them together with drywall screws into stacks of four. My garage shop is small and the plywood is big. I set up an in-feed and out-feed table with a couple of rollers to help move the plywood. I also add an 8′ long aluminum i-beam as an extension to my fence.
My first rips are just to get everything down to 24″ wide gangs of 4 pieces. From there it is much easier to handle the sheets. In general I cut 6 inch strips first, so when I end up with 5 1/2″ widths at the end, I can reset the fence and start cutting the narrow strips. I end up with a very narrow 1/4″ strips of waste, which I keep just in case.
I hate to waste anything, especially when the plywood is so nice, and also so expensive.
Chris
Have you considered using closed cell spray foam after the shell is complete. There may be online suppliers but look for a CA company that does it professionally. Its super strong and may add to leakage prevention. Its used as insulation in cold climates. There is also open cell but likely not viable.
Phil,
That’s a great idea. Yes, I have this in the plans. Closed cell floatation foam. It’s a 2 part mix that expands to fill the space. That is one of the reasons that the frame has 5 inch holes in each lateral segment. This should let me drill fewer holes and get better “fill” as the foam can expand to fill more chambers at a time. Also, as it settles, it will settle throughout a vertical member and I can simply “top off” the foam in the very topmost chamber.
Do you have any recommendations for a brand, or any advice to share?
Many thanks.
-Chris