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

Ask Jay!! (and I mean Jay Benford, not Leno).

I'm not sure that Jay Benford is still around, I sure hope so. He is a great
designer of boats in that range (and larger) in various materials. He has
written some good books. (I enjoy his Small Ships book in particular)

The Cascade Yachts Classic designs were from Jay Benford.

Also he seems to be interested in the questions from those building his
designs (unlike Bruce R.).

If Jay designed his boat to be built our of ply then he should have a glass
schedule that you should follow. If you are still at the 'study plan' stage,
then send him and email and he or someone in his staff should provide you
with the glass recomendations.


--
My opinion and experience. FWIW

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 16:32:45 +0100, steveb wrote:

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

Have you visited Sam Devlin's Web site? (www.devlinboat.com) He has
built some 40-foot-plus motor cruisers from fiberglass/plywood/epoxy
composites. His scantlings are substantial, and they look great.

- Rick Tyler

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

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:12:02 -0700, "Steve" wrote:

Ask Jay!! (and I mean Jay Benford, not Leno).

I'm not sure that Jay Benford is still around, I sure hope so. He is a great
designer of boats in that range (and larger) in various materials.

Ahem............... ahem. Opinions will vary about this.

Bill Garden is supposed to have said, "They say I design character
boats. If that's true, Benford designs caricature boats."

I wouldn't have expected such a comment from Mr Garden.. That now lowers my
respect for him by on notch. (still a ways to go yet though).

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

esteve says:

I wouldn't have expected such a comment from Mr Garden..

I don't know - I thought it was pretty funny... I work with a designer
(Yves-Marie Tanton) about whom Bob Perry wrote an article saying "no-one who
knows Yves could ever accuse him of being conventional" or words to that
effect. They worked together for years, and Bob was definitely writing
tongue-in-cheek.

That now lowers my
respect for him by on notch. (still a ways to go yet though).

Shame - he draws a great boat. Designers should be judged by their boats, not
their thoughts.

Steve

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 14:25:37 -0700, "Steve" wrote:

I wouldn't have expected such a comment from Mr Garden..

Why? Boat designers have their adherents and detractors like most
anyone else in the public eye. Benford's designs, in my humble
opinion, often have a clumsy "pirate ship" look.

He was a promoter of ferrocement in the 70's.

I knew a small boat designed by Benford which had its sail plan so
badly calculated that it would not come about. (!!) A Benford pinky
schooner named the "Sunrise" was built around here (Seattle) about
twenty five years ago. Wonderful job of building; dubious design. The
builder was an old timer. He had many stories about the level of the
designing. One that I can recall is that the galley range had one foot
of clearance under a cabin structural member.

But you can't argue about taste.

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...