I have only been building for a year or so, however, we have a 30 or so year
old sailboat my dad built out of exterior A/C plywood from a magazine plan.
It seems just as strong as the day he built it, propper care seems to make
all the difference.

Personaly, I would have no worries about building a larger boat out of
plywood. I just would use quality supplies and pay attention to every
detail.

Wasnt the Navy P/T Boats from WW II made from plywood and as long as 50 to
65 feet ??

Just my 2 cents.

John

"steveb" wrote in message
...
Whenever I read opinions, they tend to be given from the standpoint of "I
believe in method A as opposed to method B"

What I need to know, before embarking on an expensive and time-consuming
build project, is some good advice on the relative strength and longevity
of epoxy and cloth covered plywood hulls.

The boat I am considering is the Benford Sailing Dory (36')

My instincts suggest that this material is perfectly adequate for a Blue
water cruiser (Junk rigged), but my instincts, I find, are all the better
for listening to good advice

TIA

steveb

steveb ) writes:

What I need to know, before embarking on an expensive and time-consuming
build project, is some good advice on the relative strength and longevity
of epoxy and cloth covered plywood hulls.

The boat I am considering is the Benford Sailing Dory (36')

My instincts suggest that this material is perfectly adequate for a Blue
water cruiser (Junk rigged), but my instincts, I find, are all the better
for listening to good advice

plywood is fine for blue water cruising. plenty of them have been built.
you have to cover the outside underwater with resin to keep the worms out.
you also have to be sure all the end grain is sealed so it doesn't soak up
water. plywood boats go together fast because they are made of big pieces.
plywood comes pre-sanded.

there are different kinds of plywood with different weights, bending
characteristics, rot resistence, and so on.

I'm not so sure a 36" dory is the best shape for a sailboat. I haven't
seen the design.

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"steveb" wrote...

My instincts suggest that this material is perfectly adequate for a Blue
water cruiser (Junk rigged), but my instincts, I find, are all the better
for listening to good advice

Give a call to Sam Devlin in Olympia, WA. He builds power and sail boats to
45'+, all stitch 'n' glue plywood...