JEM Watercraft

Looking forward to the pics!

I sent you an e-mail regarding your order.

While I'm patiently (not that patient really) waiting for the plans, I've been looking at Ply supplies.
I can get Hoop & Kauri pine for $55 a sheet or BS1088 Mahogany for $63 a sheet from the local guy. He quoted $39 for Gaboon but won't stock or order it anymore as he claims it's too hit & miss with the quality he gets.

I emailed a supplier at Monavale (30 - 40 minutes from here) but received no response. After a week & popped in & saw them. They do stock gaboon for $55 a sheet but after a quick conversation I'm not too keen to deal with them. They were as helpful & interested as the chairs they were sitting on.

I believe there is a supplier at Brookvale who I will try next week.

Failing that,
Any suggestions on what ply to use?
I would like to get the ply this week so I can start cutting when the plans arrive but I don't want to skimp on quality obviously.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Al

G'day Al,

I get my Gaboon from Australian Wood panels here

http://www.awpanels.com.au/

Their Sydney Office is here,

Sydney, New South Wales

Australian Wood Panels



8-10 Jessica Place

Prestons NSW 2170

Ph: 61 2 9607 9878

Fax: 61 2 9608 1412

I use the Brisbane office because it is closer to me but they are real good to deal with and their ply has been all that i could want.

Hope this helps.

Seeing you are going to build more than one boat. It might be worth asking for a price for a "bulk" lot. i get my sheets 10 at a time and they cut me some pretty good deals.

Hi Al,

I used some of the fgi epoxy a year ago and it wasn't the best. Dunno whether I got a bad batch but it took days to harden up with the standard hardener and couldn't be sanded without clogging the paper within seconds. Ended up throwing it away after only using half of it. Their fibreglass matting is pretty cheap though at around $5.5 per metre for the 200 gram stuff.

Plywood wise, I've used stuff from mr plywood which was OK. There is also another marine shop called Caporns in Brookvale which do plywood and they also sell West System epoxy. Only ever bought graphite powder from them but they seemed pretty interested and easy to deal with.

Mick, know what you mean about the amine blush with HT9000 now, I think that the QLD humidity causes the problem, cup life seems veeerrryyy short too. Wasn't as bad when I lived in Sydney.

Cheers.....nick

Mick, know what you mean about the amine blush with HT9000 now, I think that the QLD humidity causes the problem, cup life seems veeerrryyy short too. Wasn't as bad when I lived in Sydney

Aaaah,

Welcome to my world mate

Give Scott at ATL on the Gold Coast a shout mate. Tell him I sent you.

He is real good bloke and does good deals on his stuff. I wouldn't buy my resin anywhere else. No problems at all with West Systems resin so far.

Plans arrived today thanks Matt.
You went above & beyond to make things as smooth as possible for me. I do appreciate it & can't recommend you highly enough.
The quality of the plans & instructions are exceptional. Should be easy to follow even for a fool like me.

Mick,
I'll give the guys at Prestons a call but it's a fair hike from where I live (other side of Sydney).
At this point I think I'll have to go with the mob in Monavale & just be very picky about what I get.

Flump,
Thanks for the info.
I dropped in to Capcorns today but nearly choked at their prices for ply & resin. Their Gaboon ply is almost double the most expensive quote I have had so far & almost triple the cheapest. The West system epoxy is well over triple the best price I've found.
I get the impression they will give excellent service, but It's a level of service I can't afford.

I've got a 1L batch of FGI glass which I bought a few months ago for another project & never used.
I've used it before with good results but that was many years ago & a very different application (RC sailplanes).

Since some local kids decided they needed my mailbox more than I do........ I've decided to have a trial run on a mailbox.
I can check out the quality of the resin & if it's no good I'll spend the extra money for the West system stuff.
It'll also let me see how rusty my glassing skills are on something simple & cheap.

If I can get the ply on Saturday morning I'll start cutting. Pics won't be too far behind.
Thanks again guys. I get the feeling this is the beginning of a new obsession.

Al

Aaaaah,

Welcome to the dark side mate.