When I built my little runabout fifteen (!) years ago, it was pretty easy to find suitable plywood. The boat was a Phil Bolger / Harold Payson design, and neither man was big on spending money where it wasn't required. Payson's advice was something along the lines of "well, she's glass-sheathed, so you don't need the fancy exotic plywood – just use local AC exterior ply with the boil-tested glue." He was right; after fifteen years there's no evidence at all of any kind of rot, deterioration, delamination or other trouble with Sunset Chaser's fir plywood hull.
At what point does a boatbuilding project cease to be a pile of lumber, and become a boat-in-progress?
Have you ever wondered if you might be a boatbuilder? Well, if this photo gets you excited, then the answer is yes, you are.
Sometimes, everything just comes together purely by chance to yield a really great piece of art.
We can finally get out sailing on Lake Ontario, and there's a sweet new boat in which to do it....
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