Building a D5 on the cheap.

[dakk1]

Hey guys I want to build a D5 as reasonably as I can for a couple of reasons. First I live 4 miles from a 15000 acre lake and I would like to go sailing more often. I have a 18' open cockpit sailboat from the 70's but its a bit of a pain to rig and launch by myself. I can do it but its a pain. I want something I can throw in the back of my work van and be on the water in 30 mins. Someone said the smaller the boat the more often you go sailing. I believe it.

Second, I don't want to put $1000 or more in a dinghy. If this goes well I'll probably build something a little bigger but not too much, so this will hone my skills for something later.
Having said all that, there are some areas I won't skimp on. The Epoxy. I intend to use this sites marine grade epoxy for the joints and such. Workmanship. I'm going to do the best job I know how to do.

I found some premium Luan from Lowes that is called Moreland Ultraply. it is better than the run of the mill stuff you usually see. From Moreland's site they claim it to be free of voids, guranteed not to delaminate and glued with Marine glue. I wondered if anyone had used it. Please don't call the plywood police!

Thanks for reading.

Dave

[Lon]

This may help your decision:
http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php ... t=ultraply
and:
http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php ... t=ultraply

[Ingvald]

I used Okumee and Marine Epoxy. Approximate outlay:$532 for those materials. Mine is a sailing version. Sail setup not included.

[Russ5924]

I built mine using just Marine Plywood boat came out OK and have had no checking of the wood. But if I had to do over again I would stay with the better wood. Bends easy and is lighter and is nice to work with. Even using the good wood I can't see anything over $500 basic boat

[TarDevil]

I used the Lowes ply on my CC14, about 150 bucks total in materials, one summer of hard use on a rocky river in western NC and she still looks like new.

Maybe she'll fall apart next year, but so far I'm happy.

[dakk1]

Thanks for the replies. I'm gonna go with the Ultraply XL for the hull. Honestly, if it's as good as advertised I can't think of any reason not to on a boat as small as the D5. Especially since this boat will be under cover most of the time. I want to put the finished sail version of this on the water for $500 or less. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Dave

[Charlie]

This
http://gallery.bateau2.com/thumbnails.php?album=343
cost me ~$525 with a Bateau sail.
Made with an underlayment called "Multiply".

[dakk1]

Well it has been a couple of months since the original post and I am making some progress. Things have changed but not so much. I plan on launching by Christmas. A couple points here. This is a dinghy, not a yacht. So, that said, I am happy with the Moreland Ultraply at $20 bucks a sheet. I am cutting corners wherever I can. White polytarp at $10 bucks. Mast $12. Sprit $10. Gudgeons and Pintles $29 and so on. The main thing is I'm having fun and the end result will be a boat! I am already thinking of a more ambitious boat project.....

Dave

See the boat at

http://home.coosahs.net/dakk1/

[BoH]

It's looking good.

I have to agree with the plywood choice. 7 1/2 feet long with 4 frames -- that's plenty of support. It will last as well as it's sealed and maintained.

Bo