S&G Pram Material Sources

[Lurch]

Yet another newbie here. Been lurking for a while, and the amount of collective knowledge here is one step beyond awesome. You know how, on those rare, introspective evenings when you look up at a clear night sky full of billyuns and billyuns of stars, you feel sort of insignificant? Well, that's kind of what it feels like to this first-time poster to barge in here with a bunch of dumb questions. But, nothing ventured ....

I've never built a boat, though I have done some woodworking, so I'm fairly familiar with the material. The urge to build one has reached the point where I can no longer put it off, so I'll soon start on a Swan KC 10 s&g 10' pram. For me, this will be a major undertaking and I'll gladly accept any helpful advice anyone has to offer. I'm trying to avoid expensive mistakes. Living in the Great American Desert, it seems that suppliers are all at least a thousand miles away. My questions are three:

1. I've been pricing plywood, and it looks like I'll either order 5x10 sapele from Harbor Sales (shipping is a killer), or pick up some 4x8 sheets of SuperPly from a Denver supplier and do some scarfing. I don't think scarfing is beyond my skill level.

2. Epoxy and 'glass: I've seen RAKA mentioned many times, but I've also seen West Systems and a few others. I'm inclined at the moment to go with RAKA.

3. This will be a rowing/sailing pram, so I'm looking at a little hardware - cleats, gudgeons/pintles, transom handles, oarlocks, etc. For these I'm looking probably at Jamestown Distributors.

What I would like is a rousing round of "Spot on, Don!" :cool: No, wait! What I really want is constructive comments/advice on the choices I've laid out. :D Are they reasonable?

Don

[John Bell]

Basically it sounds like you are on the right track. I won't try to dissuade you from buying good plywood, I think it's generally worth it. I would not be scared of scarfing, either. It's surprisingly easy. So shop around for 4x8 sheets too. The problem with having ply shipped for such a small project is that the shipping becomes a huge part of the material bill. So I don't think you'll be endangering anyone if you go with superply, either. It's your choice.

I've used West and Raka and am satisfied with both. I only buy Raka any more. Raka is also a good choice for glass cloth and fillers as well.

One alternative source for smalll boat hardware can be found at http://www.duckworksmagazine.com.

[imported_Steven Bauer]

Sounds good to me. I'm lucky enough to live about 3 miles from Hamilton Marine (http://www.hamiltonmarine.com) They sell all the stuff you might need and are great folks.

Another important part of the process is taking lots of pictures and posting them here for us. :D

Steven

[Lurch]

Thank for the support. Pictures will follow once I get started, but I work at a positively glacial rate, so assume the intervals will be long. :D

Don