Caledonia Yawl in Thailand

I'm going to attempt to build a Caledonia Yawl in Thailand this spring and I am concerned that the plans call for no fiberglass. In my ignorant mind I think that fiberglass and epoxy will be much more of a barrier against termites than just epoxy. Do you think epoxy and paint is enough to keep them at bay? The bugs here are murder on wood. Teak is actually considered a soft wood in Thailand, believe it or not. I can use this in the keel and anything not marine ply. I'm just worried that a ton of work will go until the hull and then I'll find a bunch of tell tale signs of internal feasting.


Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Kip Otteson
Chiang Mai, Thailand

 

Lapstrake hulls don't lend themselves to glassing due to hard transitions of fiberglass over inside and outside edges of strakes. This isn't a problem because plywood doesn't need glass for strength. The bottom doesn't show so adding a layer of fiberglass there won't look funny if you smooth out those garboard joints with some putty.
Epoxy alone is quite enough for protection from marine borers. The important thing is to epoxy the inside as well and to lay enough coats on to make a good barrier.
Thailand is probably not that unusual in terms of climate or environment. In places, the southern USA is likely just as tough on wooden boats.
The Caldonia is going to last well in such places as long as the epoxy coating is thick enough (about three coats), both inside and outside are sealed, and any scraped off epoxy is immediately recoated after drying out.
As far as wood species is concerned, if possible use what has been spec'd by the designer. Weight matters, so when substituting a local wood for a specified species, try to use something with similar characteristics of weight, strength, and rot resistance. Epoxy allows use of woods that tend to rot more easily but to be practical, attempt to use woods that could suffer some neglect without too much concern for minor abrasions and ingress of water.
Use a quality marine plywood for planks and though it's more expensive to purchase, no other part of the boat is as important.

 

Good news on the bugs

Thanks, Alan. I appreciate the news and feedback. I guess in the South of the US there would be much similar situations. Good point. In the US I live in Colorado and there is no moisture at all. I have logs on my property that have been piled for years and they are still hard as nails. In Thailand they would be gone in a year, or useless for sure.

Thanks again.

Kip

 

Kip, There was a project built in the Philippines that you may enjoy taking a look at.

http://fusionschooner.blogspot.com/

 

Chang mai is what--- 400 miles from the nearest launch place probably Samut prakorn.

I dont know how big this yawl will be but if you need to remover over head power it will cost more than the boat because you face is the wrong colour

 

Frosty, the boat is 20', spars go up and down by hand.....

You can sheath a lapstrake hull but you need to use 2oz. "sheathing" glass. This adds a lot of weight and Oughtred boats are sensitive to that. If you use hardwood reduce the dimensions to offset weight increase. Simple coating works but it's easy to break through scraping on a rock or barnacle. If the boat is dry sailed (lives on a trailer) this is not a problem. Plastic worm shoe on the keel and some sacrificial rub strips on the bilge will help.