Materials Notes

• Epoxy: I worked with West System Epoxy products for years. They make good stuff and I have no complaints. But in recent years I've been buying from Larry at Raka. System III makes good resin and there are other sources too. I can't vouch for any of the rest, but those three sources are indeed reliable.
• Plywood: Plywood is rapidly becoming the do-it-yourself boat builder's biggest problem. I relied on AA Marine fir for years. It was strong and cheap and I didn't care much what it looked like, because I paint my huls anyway (although I do like to leave gunwales, seats and trim bright finished). But Marine Fir is almost extinct. Worse yet, some that's sold these days is lousy three ply stuff you cannot with confidence. It seems as if Hydrotek Meranti is the now the cheapest reliable plywood. I don't have any sources listed here yet. I'll work on it. You can use Okoume and better yet Sepele too. But they're getting harder to find too. And Sepele is not cheap.