Who here has done it? I’m about to start a 20ft Carolina Caladesi, Spira design and just looking for any pointers and pics of what you might have built. Thanks

Is this going to be a plywood epoxy boat? If so, what plywood? What epoxy?

Will be fiberglass over plywood, and using sanded 1/2ply for the sides and 3/4in for the floor and transom I’m not sure what resin I’ll be using yet

I have but several. Some out of Aluminum, some out of wood and a couple out of steel and 4 out of glass fibre. Ranging in size from 16 foot flat bottom fishing boat fro shallow water to 38 foot ocean going sailboat.

I’m still deciding if I’m going to build a console and go remote of just a tiller. I want it utilitarian for duck hunting, trapping and fishing, not concerned about looks.

I would not use thicker ply wood for the transom and bottom but lay the glass up somewhat thicker instead. The stability of a glass fiber boat should come from the form of construction and the primary material. The boy wood should only be there to give it form and something to lay the glass matting against. many glass fiber boats use balsa wood or these days closed cell foam to give it shape.

Built many and so has NEWT on this web site. I have built 39 foot Hartley design sail boat, 17 foot flat bottom tailorable fishing boat-25 hp merc. Helped on many of the ferrocement boat projects of friends of mine. Ply wood is my favorite. the boat in the photos is 3 layers of 1/4 inch ply wood, through the hull chine, powered by 4-71 Turbo GMC diesel---that was not the best choice but money wise it was, should of had a modern 4 cycle......jk

I was just going off the plans for the plywood thickness but had thought about if I could go 1/2in all the way around. I’ll be buying materials in stages, mostly to lie to myself about how much the project is costing me lol but it will allow me to modify materials used as well.

For what you describe, I would definitely make it a tiller steer.

Wow that looks great, must have taken some time. This one I’m going with first is flat bottom but like normal I’m already looking ahead if this one goes smooth I’d like to go with a 24ft deadrise with a cabin, but trying not to get ahead of myself.

Helped a buddy build one 40+ years ago.
Turned out great, other than being " slightly" asymmetrical, lol.

Had plans for a 18'CC, stitch and glue, but doubt I'll ever get to it.

I have never built a boat but repaired a ton of them. Why not a thicker transom? Every boat I ever replaced a transom on was 1 1/2" thick. But those were aluminum and fiberglass boats. Thanks

The frames on the plans I have are made with 1 1/2in lumber that’s covered with ply and fiberglass

Thanks! That make sense.

Built several with a mold and a chop gun. Fixed over 1000 !

Transom is 2 -3/4” plywood bonded. If building a wood / fiberglass boat invest in West System epoxy resin and skip polyester resin !

Tatiana the only boat I ever built was in a buddy's kitchen

We built a pair of pirogues for duck hunting
Little over 10', 1/4" plywood with a couple coats of fiberglass

Held up for years of hunting sloughs and holes of water in the woods that you could not get a bigger boat into

I don't know much, but I know this!

Talk real nice to a boat manufacturer or fiberglass fabricator that is close and that is the place to get fresh resin and various weights of mat and cloth. I have one that sells it to me by the pound for a lot less, and there are no shipping or hazmat charges that can really add up. You can get woven carbon fiber cloth to help add strength without adding a lot of weight where you need to add strength or stiffen an area up.

Toured a fiberglass boat factory once and asked about a piece of tubing running the length of the keel. The owner said it was a pressure vent. He then pointed to the ceiling where metal trusses were bent. Someone omitted the vent and when the concoction cooked off, it exploded. The factory was in Lumberton, NC. Mckee Craft I think.

So do the plans for this boat specify plywood along the lines of ACX......and not some grade of marine? Once upon a time the box stores and lumber yards had decent ACX fir plywood, but I have not seen that lately. What I have seen is some pretty dodgy stuff that I would not trust my life to.

In most regions where boat building is common, there are sources of marine plywood and two part 2:1 marine epoxy that goes by generic names as it all comes from only a handful of places that make the stuff and is purchased in 55 gallon drums before it is repackaged. As much as it takes to build a boat of any size, better to get it from one of those. Places like Raka, Epoxy Polymers, Boat Builders Central, US Composites, etc. Way less expensive than West and in my mind, much better and easier to work with.