Designing a fast open deck catamaran

[Mulkari]

Considering what's going on in my corner of the world I'm more leaning towards building a plywood cat. There is a significant chance a war can break out with Russia trying to invade Baltic countries in next few years and if that happens and the project has to be abandoned at basic empty hull stage at least it will not be terribly costly loss compared to foam, glass, carbon proa build. Local birch ply, pine, spruce and some other local woods are cheap compared to composites. Before starting to add rig, engine and sail handling hardware epoxy is only expensive component, but it is needed in smaller amounts than if building purely composite structure.

 

[montero]

Its from "plywood dagerboard " thread .Skip Johnson mentioned Laminated veneer lumber - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminated_veneer_lumber.
I found e.g. Steico company here . Could be usefull in multihulls

Considering what's going on in my corner of the world I'm more leaning towards building a plywood cat. There is a significant chance a war can break out with Russia trying to invade Baltic countries in next few years and if that happens and the project has to be abandoned at basic empty hull stage at least it will not be terribly costly loss compared to foam, glass, carbon proa build. Local birch ply, pine, spruce and some other local woods are cheap compared to composites. Before starting to add rig, engine and sail handling hardware epoxy is only expensive component, but it is needed in smaller amounts than if building purely composite structure.

Its from "plywood dagerboard " thread .Skip Johnson mentioned Laminated veneer lumber - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminated_veneer_lumber.
I found e.g. Steico company here . Could be usefull in multihulls.

 

[montero]

Metsä Wood product and services https://www.metsagroup.com/metsawood/products-and-services/?productCategory=63884&application=0

 

[Skip Johnson]

Its from "plywood dagerboard " thread .Skip Johnson mentioned Laminated veneer lumber - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminated_veneer_lumber.
I found e.g. Steico company here . Could be usefull in multihulls

Its from "plywood dagerboard " thread .Skip Johnson mentioned Laminated veneer lumber - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminated_veneer_lumber.
I found e.g. Steico company here . Could be usefull in multihulls.

I used LVL timber for all the 'solid' wood structure in the build of Nomad, a 27' proa. Stringers, beams, rudders etc. 26' long beam were set up on sawhorses and pieces were cut using a skilsaw with fine carbide blade and a long (30" +/-) straightedge clamped to the shoe of the saw. With a little preplanning including allowance for the saw kerf everything can be cut with very little waste. Worked out well for the boat and all was in good shape until the tornado destroyed the boat.

Nomad was built near Houston, Texas where I had access to premium spec LVL's. The next build Trivial Obsession was built in the hills of NW Oklahoma and my only source was standard LVL's which worked but the quality of the veneers was not the same as the premium spec material.

 

[Mulkari]

Yes, there are several companies here producing laminated wood products. I will definitely take a look what they offer and what could be suitable for my use case. Just have to be damn sure glues used are durable in salt water environment.

 

[Skip Johnson]

Yes, there are several companies here producing laminated wood products. I will definitely take a look what they offer and what could be suitable for my use case. Just have to be damn sure glues used are durable in salt water environment.

Glues typically are not a problem, quality of veneers can be in my experience.

 

[cando2]

Hi Mulkari. We certainly wish the best for you and your country. Should you wish to continue the conversation, I have some ideas that might be of interest to you. Also, we would love to get an update on your current thinking and progress on your project. Take care.