Re: 1952 Duracraft Sportsman
I believe a great deal of the wood boats made just before the fiberglass craze were of molded plywood bottoms & 'real' wood lapstrake sides & topsides. Particularly the wood boat kits.
Somewhere I seem to remember reading that wood boat makers saw the dwindling supply of mahogany & teak and began the cost (and material) saving practice of using plywood where the customer & anyone looking at the boat wouldn't know any different. Not really sneaky, just keeping the costly 'good' stuff for the visible areas.
Plywood gently bent in multiple planes/axis becomes quite rigid & will hold it's form quite well when properly fastened. I only used 1/4" luaun for my knock down 3pc boat and the fore & aft sections are quite sturdy. The larger center section is a tad too wide & long w/ not quite enough camber in any 1 pc of ply, so it's tricky. In the water, it displaces such a large surface area that the 'point' load of stepping into it w/ 1 foot stresses the hull's bottom along it's perimeter frame. I counteract it by having a 2nd layer of ply resting 'loose' along it's interior, spreads the load just enough to be manageable. Once seated or kneeling, it's no longer a problem....................
Ken Simpson (designer of my knock down) and other designers of stitch & glue hulls really make the most of plywood's flexibility.
I figured you'd agree about the cutting up tin boats, I remember the dash rebuild early on @this build...............
You've got a glasser
You've got a tinny
You
NEED a wooden boat....
If you don't want to make a late night road trip to pull the stakes outta her hull & save her any further shame & embarrassment:
I HIGHLY recommend a plywood stitch & glue or modified stitch & glue (like mine, although there was no stitching)
