Yo Josh

I keep trotting out the same old story: Plywood is a small component of cost for an s&g project. Epoxy and time are probably the big outlays. So I reckon don't skimp on the ply.

Indeed I built a little 8' skiff for british seagull outboard racing and made a good job. However I found that one of the sheets of cheap ply I had used had a void (a space between the outer veneers where the core material was damaged).

On the outside it looked good, but after a bit of use the void 'bubbled up'.

This was immensly dissappointing to me after all the effort that went into building the boat. The fix: cut out the affected spot and put an inspection port there. How to avoid it next time: Hold the sheet up to the sun and check for voids before you buy the things.

Darren Neufeld? made a guillemot s&g out of doorskin ply which cost him $7 and made a mighty fine job. So anything is possible.

For me, I don't mind spending a little more money on some good marine grade ply, especially remembering back at all the effort I put into building my guillemot s&g.

Goodluck on your build. It is great swanning around in a kayak you have built yourself and a great hobby and something you will never regrette doing.

Cheers Pete