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I just got a 4x8 sheet of marine grade ply 1/2" (Dug Fir). I have the outline of the 1st of 4 boards to be made. Ill cut, sand 'n finish this weekend. Gonna try out a new template(tweaking the old one). Its gonna be a bit more narrow and adding bump wings. 47x20x1/2.

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z47 ... 000131.jpg
rough cut. needs sanding and seal.

My first plypo was a swallowtail. The board looks nice. Just be careful - points can hurt. Now all of my boards are squared tails.

I have enough wood for 3 more boards(Woohoo!). The next one will be the same template but square tail. What width are you boards Spud?

Depending on the length and design, I tend to like wider than most I think at 20-22"

Well Im going from 22.25" on last board to 20 on this next board.

The Douglas fir marine ply seems to "soak up" the varnish. Is that normal? How many spray coats is ok before I use the board? I have 3 on the bottom and 2 on top. All coats were light.

I've only used spray varnish once, and I couldn't tell if it was being "soaked up " by the wood or bouncing off the board and dissipating in the air when it was sprayed. You would definitely have to do a lot of coats to get the thick built up finish like traditional brush on varnish. I gave up after 3 coats and went surfing. That board has held up well (in Hawai'i), but it only sees a week or two of heavy use per year. The wood I used wasn't fir marine ply. It was some mystery A/B grade ply from a local hardware store that didn't smell like fir when cut.

If you're using a rattle can spray, then maybe buy a quart of the same stuff. Brush on at least two more coats. I would do four.

I sometimes prime the wood with one or two coats of a drying oil, like linseed or hemp. You have to be patient, and respect the drying times. For example, I think Watco recommends 72 hours between their oil and varnish top coat.

I finish both sides at once. I make little varnishing stands using a scrap of wood and three nails (blunted, rounded.) It will leave three little bumps in the varnish on one side of the board. You have to sand between coats anyway, so no big deal. On the final coat, I clean up the bumps with 220 and 440 wet and dry paper. Have the bumps on the deck side for the final. Nobody will ever know.

clanb, ive never made a board with as much curve in the outline as youve made here, with plywood, so im not sure how itd work. i tend to like more parallel outlines, myself, when it comes to plywood (kinda like ogazans) because of the length being so short, and the rails really grab the face for tube rides. but, i think is all preference when it gets down to it. i do use more curve (similar to yours, i guess) in my foam displacement hulls though and it really help with turning, hope this helps.

Soulglider, are you referring to the 1st board on the 1st page of this post or the board on this page? I went with a bit more parallel lines on this one. http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z47 ... 000131.jpg over this 1st board. http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z47 ... 134640.jpg

guess i was looking at the first one. on the second one, ouch! watch those points....cant say i liked the way swallow tails worked over just a plain square tail when it comes to plywood boards. i did take a deeper more cresent-ish like tail and like the added torsional flex i gained. how do you like it?

I made a square tail lust like the 1st board.I liked the turning on the swallow better but the square would catch waves a bit easier..not much though. I have been riding the square more while a these next two boards are being finished. The next board aI make will be a square tail and maybe an inch or two more narrow. So last two was curvy outline with a swallow and a square. Nest two same but a more parallel outline. Lets see what happens.

The board posted on the very 1st page was my 1st board that did what I wanted it to do. I used cheap birch and as a result its life was not long. I would ride it and while it was drying I would use another board. I used it several times in the last month and had it in the stack of boards drying, waiting for its turn when I saw that it had finally come apart.


I had other plans for this piece of plywood but when I saw the delam I decided to remake the board out of marine dug fir ply. I guess I will have to buy more wood for my other ideas to do on other Saturdays.......does it ever stop?

Mr. Mike inspired!

no it never stops you have to go to PA and do the 10 step program and it might slow you down to one or two a mounth