Which Hull Material is BEST: Plywood | Sailing Wisdom

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This is the 4th in a 5 Part Series on Hull Materials.
Wood Epoxy Saturation Technique (WEST) can produce incredibly strong boats with relative ease. In this video, I interview a full-time cruiser who built his own 65-foot catamaran out of plywood. I get a first-hand look at the problems and benefits of this hull construction technique.
0:00 Intro
0:27 Year of the Cat, a Plywood Catamaran
2:27 What happens if you hit something?
2:49 What are things to look for and things to avoid?
3:30 Why buy a Plywood boat?
5:48 How are Plywood boats made?
6:42 How to inspect a plywood boat?
7:40 Which is the right boat for you?
9:35 Outro
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[@jrovalinoful]

This was such an interesting video. I particularly liked his last statement.

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

Thanks to all for the video and interview! Very impressive builder. Very intelligent, careful, thoughtful, resourceful. He even built his own computer controlled routing table to cut the parts. Modelled the boat twice before starting the actual build. His build is very nicely done, and the results look very good. That planning and preparation seems to have relatively sped up his process too.

[@christiankuwetter7593]

mei .... a deutscher halt ...

[@craigparse1439]

On the KZbin channel "Sailing Wave Rover" he is in the process of building a plywood sailboat (twin keels, cat-rigged junk). He's finishing up the hull now (ready for fiberglass weave & epoxy). It's so nice to see a build like this in-progress.

[@RiggingDoctor]

Those builds are so cool to watch!

[@braithmiller]

Quality self build. The problems mostly come from bad build and neglect.

[@RiggingDoctor]

His build is immaculate!

[@jamesfrankland4436]

@@RiggingDoctor yes he did a great job on it. But I wonder being that it's a cat and a heavy one, how waight sensitive is it?

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

@@jamesfrankland4436 For its size, it's actually pretty light. I would imagine a larger boat could take more load, but of course it's sensible to keep the load down for better performance.

[@bergssprangare]

Very, very impressive.. A man of his destiny

[@markthomasson5077]

If you are building in ply, precoat all ply and timber before bringing to the assembly.

[@marklanders630]

My neighbor built three glass over wood stitch and glue kayaks. He was afraid of the water so he never used them. They were nice Lookin though.

[@RiggingDoctor]

Those are gorgeous!! I want to build a kayak that way in the future.

[@alf970]

He knew what he wanted, a big boat within a specific budget, and plywood was the way to go. He's off, sailing.

[@RiggingDoctor]

He’s impressive!

[@PepijnHazelhof]

I see an other channel building a boat out of foam and fiberglas, i would love to see you cover this

[@guy.h]

that video will be coming out soon!!!

[@RiggingDoctor]

Tomorrow actually 😉

[@geniexmay562]

Really enjoyed this set of interviews Thank You 👍 ........ : )

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thanks for watching them. It was really eye opening doing these interviews.

[@markzieg3593]

Really great video. I was really motivated by the last statement as has been commented by other viewers. I would love to see a full boat tour. What a magnificent Catamaran. Echt Zooper!

[@dominicbyrne7954]

Superb video. Thank you for producing. My only complaint is that I could have listened to Tom talk about his creation for hours and hours.

[@RiggingDoctor]

Same

[@zenzen9131]

What an awesome project !

[@RiggingDoctor]

It really was, and now he gets to explore the world with it

[@clayfarnet970]

Great interviews with very knowledgeable guests. Keep up the good work. 👍👍👍

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thank you! It was some work finding all the cruisers who I felt were knowledgeable about the topic.

[@christophervan6966]

Brilliant. Thanks. What a dude!

[@RiggingDoctor]

He really is an amazing person

[@barrywarren4221]

Plywood and fiberglass seams like a good way to go. fast to build and repair.

[@RiggingDoctor]

It’s really impressive what you can do with such simple materials.

[@livingsimplytosimplylive6817]

Wonderful interview

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thank you :)

[@cordobes]

Impressive. Six years to build, a lifetime to acquire the skills though. For those of us less gifted, French manufacturer RM has built and sold hundreds of very good and fairly fast plywood boats.

[@RiggingDoctor]

He has incredible skills!

[@gefginn3699]

Thanks for sharing this post.

[@RiggingDoctor]

You are welcome :)

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

Its a huge Wood cat. A lot of power boats used ply ...and pressure moulded the sheets. Its very tough built correctly... Its a renewable resource and repairable...so thats good it also lends itself to one off or batch production...even mass production .. Im thinking in particular of James Wharram's designs it allows experimentation. With modern robot cutting methods and CAD it can be used to produce precisely cut interlocking parts. I can think of two other highly successful uses of plywood ..The mosquito fighter bombers of ww2 which only suffered in the tropics because they lacked Epoxy resins and the 1984 Africar project that used a resin impregnated plywood monocoque body tub ..for a host of reasons and to improve function in Environments from the polar circle to the Equator. At no point did the vehicles body work fail or suffer any damage despite the extreme terrains. They actually showed that you could hit it with a lump hammer and it wouldn't break or significantly dent. It also insulates and has no significant resonate frequency.

[@RiggingDoctor]

I was amazed that his giant cat was made of plywood. It’s an incredible build!

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

@@RiggingDoctor The biggest Wharrams are 55-65ft theres one channel ive seen the guy is living in and sailing the sea of japan. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4qlha2PqdCkrJI They all share the same idependent hulls and independent articulation beam mounted deck ... a bit like a 4wheel drive with long travel suspension and rigid Axel articulation.😁😉😂. I've a question for you if you dont mind why dont more modern boats use hulls with turned up...raised bows like many early sea going sailing vessels .. and rising displacement chines on the hulls ? Theres a cat being adapted to two electric sail drives ... I think it might be ply or ply with glass hulls? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqKZdqR3i7hnq6c What is interesting is structural layout its like an evolution of the Wharram's. Theres also a Hybrid diesel electric monohull with some outstanding fuel saving performance figures at the end .

[@davidross5291]

I had a sort of plywood boat 25 years ago in Italy. Sort of because it was built on a plug by epoxying 1mm thick by 4 or 5 inch wide strips of wood over in a criss cross pattern. The end result was a type of plywood but in the compound curved shape of a fin keel fiberglass boat. Little to no internal frames as well.

[@RiggingDoctor]

I’ve seen that construction as well! It’s amazing what you can do with a few basic materials combined in various ways!

[@davidross5291]

@@RiggingDoctor Yes. It was the only one I'd ever seen and it had no data plate or manufacturer's mark. Great boat but it seemed like a whole lot of work make the plug just to to make one in someone's back yard.

[@jamesfrankland4436]

Great video, I will go with wood although thinking of plastic. Yes I did say plastic because it can be free and I know how to work it. But wood is an awesome choice.

[@RiggingDoctor]

I also love wood and went with a plastic hull.

[@jamesfrankland4436]

@@RiggingDoctor really? Damn Herb I was giving thought of making my own plastic planks for my build when the time comes. Building it like most wooden boat's are built but with plastic which I can pick up just about anywhere, then sell off my equipment and hit the water for life or as long as I can. This will be my forever boat, yup the last one I'll build. Just need to find out what I could use for UV protection on plastic.

[@melinda5777]

Wonderful! You know this from me!! 🙏🙏❤❤🇺🇸⛵⚓🤙👍

[@RiggingDoctor]

👍

[@billhanna8838]

Look up John Spencers ply yachts from NZ , They were fast easy built & great boats from 7 ft to 70 ft .

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thanks for the info!

[@lordtudraska1796]

Nice shirt sir.

[@RiggingDoctor]

😎

[@markbailey6051]

Wood without ballast will flood but stays afloat. Not sink to the bottom.

[@RiggingDoctor]

That’s the advantage of a multihull!

[@lordtudraska1796]

Good to know... I'm looking at a catamaran in St. Lucia, it's listed for $44,000... down from 60k. Should I offer 30k? Since I need to fly down there, sail it back (don't know if I can do so solo). Plus I need to get it through the Canal since I'm on the west coast of Canada... or maybe sail it across the Atlantic the long way home...

[@RiggingDoctor]

You can always come up in price but you can’t negotiate the price any lower! Offer low and come up as needed 😉

[@stevenplancich6449]

Wow…This Cruiser put a lot of Time & Effort on his Build…Wondering if “Factory Build” can say the Same

[@RiggingDoctor]

He really built the boat with care!

[@SailingCailin]

The best hull material? Whatever gets you out there cruising now 😉.

[@RiggingDoctor]

Exactly!

[@cojakiki3631]

Concrete, plywood next is recycled tails of extinct mammal eastern hare wallaby tails.... hahah sry... really enjoy this series pls keep it up, just did not expect these materials.

[@RiggingDoctor]

😉 bringing new hull materials to your attention

[@DowneastThunderCreations]

👍👍👍

[@RiggingDoctor]

:)

[@FTATF]

This guy is pretty smart. Any gueses at his profession? I was thinking mechanical engineer or architect.

[@RiggingDoctor]

He told me at the time and it all made sense, but I forgot it. I think he was a engineer or something along those lines.

[@jeanerasmus1948]

Do they perhaps have a build series on KZbin?

[@RiggingDoctor]

They do not, just a lot of pictures from their build process. It was an incredible project!

[@jeanerasmus1948]

@@RiggingDoctor Even that would be great if they can put it up on a website

[@theosphilusthistler712]

Ooo oooh. I know this one. The best hull material is going to be GBRC isn't it. Gummy Bear Reinforced Chocolate.

[@RiggingDoctor]

That is definitely the best hull to live in! I would live in that.

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

Till the orca tasted the rudder then it's theirs 😂🤭

[@bryrensexton4618]

👍!!!

[@RiggingDoctor]

😎

[@BertMerlin57]

So you make playwood first, then give it a lay of steel, then a lay ferocement, top whit glassfiber and close it all of whit aluminium,, and you have the best of all materials.

[@RiggingDoctor]

Absolutely 🤣

[@nobody46820]

🙂👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@RiggingDoctor]

Thanks!

[@Pillowcase]

Its HUUUGE

[@RiggingDoctor]

It really was massive!

[@pavelavietor1]

Hello WHAT IS A ANGLO SAXON WORLD, TO FUNNY. SALUDOS TO THE CREATORS OF MODERN SHIP BUILDING, THE IBERIANS. saludos Merry Christmas

[@RiggingDoctor]

I was wondering that too 🤣

[@pavelavietor1]

Hello no way just like a desk, WHAT IS THE ANGLO SAXON WORLD THIS GUY MENTIONED. Saludos Merry Christmas Iberians, people who are from the IBERIAN PENINSULA A GEOGRAPHICAL PLACE

[@RiggingDoctor]

He is amazing to have built that giant boat!

[@joecucch8261]

This and the ferrocement video were un understandable.

[@davecopp9356]

Do you even speak and understand english? This german guy speaks english very well, much better than the guy from the ferrocement boat. You should check your ears, maybe they are plugged.

[@cordobes]

Haven't watched ferrocement video but this one wasnt only understandable, it was pretty illuminating.

[@RiggingDoctor]

The ferro cement guy was Russian and doing his best in English.

[@joecucch8261]

@@davecopp9356 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[@joecucch8261]

@@RiggingDoctor I am an old fart and Russian english doesn't compute in these old ears, nor does heavy german accent. Sorry, next time I won't click on to your channel.

[@davecopp9356]

I like the german guy, great job with the boat, but please don´t cross your legs all the time like a women. Wish you the best for the future.

[@RiggingDoctor]

He is a really cool guy!

[@davecopp9356]

@@RiggingDoctor Thanks for taking the time to respond to the comments. You have a great channel with a lot of information. All the best for you and your birds.