Coosa or Starboard, where to buy?

[fund razor]

Is my local West Marine gonna have anything of any decent size? Is there a mail order source that is fast?

Where do you buy yours?

Thanks!

[old377guy]

TAP plastics.. 1/2 the price of West Marine also

[Trim'd Up]

I got mine from Advanced Plastics. Prices are good and they are good to deal with. They have a location close to me so it saved me the shipping costs too. They carry EVERYTHING! Coosa, Starboard, Divyncell etc. I sure as hell wouldn't buy it from West Marine. That stuff was high enough without their 3 million percent markup. Are you wanting coosa or starboard? They are very different materials. What are you doing with it?
www.advanced-plastics.com

[insanity]

There are a few places in Michigan you might try. Haven't bought from Al's before but Eastpointe seems to have 'fair' prices, not sure if they carry starboard tho...

Eastpointe Fiberglass - Eastpointe - 5867734237
Al's Waterline Marine Supply - Rockwood - 7342364702

[Chris]

Starboard is a machinable plastic. Not structural really. You could make a step or a transom platform out of it, but not a bulkhead. Coosa is like Penske board or a number of other types of fiber-reinforced polymer sheets.

[fund razor]

I got mine from Advanced Plastics. Prices are good and they are good to deal with. They have a location close to me so it saved me the shipping costs too. They carry EVERYTHING! Coosa, Starboard, Divyncell etc. I sure as hell wouldn't buy it from West Marine. That stuff was high enough without their 3 million percent markup. Are you wanting coosa or starboard? They are very different materials. What are you doing with it?
www.advanced-plastics.com

I am replacing and reinforcing a portion of a bulkhead in one case, and covering some wood that isn't rotten yet in another. I was thinking starboard for the covering, but maybe I will jusy epoxy it.
I have the room to install a reinforcing panel behind the repaired bulkhead to replace any lost stiffening. I figured I should use Coosa for that. It is a section between stringers, 30 inches wide total. 30 by 16 with a V bottom shape.
Although... I have been pretty dam tempted to epoxy a piece of 5/8 inch plywood and move on. :)

Maybe I can swing up to Eastpointe or Rockwood for Coosa. Rockwood is only 20 minutes from work.

[fund razor]

Starboard is a machinable plastic. Not structural really. You could make a step or a transom platform out of it, but not a bulkhead. Coosa is like Penske board or a number of other types of fiber-reinforced polymer sheets.

Gotcha.

[Trim'd Up]

I think you would be much better off just coating the wood in epoxy ILO satarboard. For the bulkhead look into Divyncell. It is much cheaper than coosa, although not as strong. Throw a couple of layers of glass over it and it is strong as hell. I used it for all of my bulkheads in my boat. It was about $80 for a 4'x7' sheet of 1/2" and $120 for a sheet of 3/4".

[fund razor]

No luck at Al's.
Eastpointe Fiberglass has foam core and balsa core. No Coosa.
Michigan Fiberglass sells balsa core but not coosa.

Anybody online with Coosa is selling full sheets.

I need about a 24 inch square of 3/4 inch and a quarter sheet (2 x 4) of 1/2.

Epoxy over plywood is starting to look good.

[fund razor]

Would what these places are calling "foam core" be "structural?"

[fund razor]

Oh man... decisions decisions.... there is a place a few miles from my house that will sell Douglas Fir Marine grade plywood for pretty cheap (4 x 8 half inch 56 bucks, 4 x 8 three quarter inch 78 bucks) and they will sell partial sheets for a 20% upcharge.

This means that I could get my 2 x 2 section for $11.70 and my 2 x 4 section of half inch for $14.00.

Hmmmm.

[fund razor]

Heck, I could upgrade the half inch backer that I was adding behind my repair area to 3/4 inch for a few bucks more.

That ought to replace the lost stiffening.

[fund razor]

Seriously... if I use marine grade plywood and then epoxy over it, haven't I gone one farther than they did down in Miami in 1988. They left the wood bare.

It just feels dumb to patch a section of coosa into a wood bulkhead and then cover it with coosa. The underneath would be wood still, the outside will be fiberglass and nobody will ever see either side. It would end up more than an inch and a half thick and the patched part is only 14 inches square. The tank side would be epoxy'd, which is a step up from factory.

[Trim'd Up]

If I was you I would just use plywood for such a small area your not going to save much weight and the plywood will last basically forever if it is sealed in glass. The only wood left in my boat is the transom and the engine stringers, and if I was doing it again I would use plywood just for the cost savings. I have a bunch of money and TIME tied up in an old Baja that ain't worth chit and isn't really what I want anyway, but hey I probably have the most high tech 240 sport out there. :D

[BradB]

No need for marine plywood. use Ext. luan board 1/2" or 3/4" depending on the job. much better in my opinion and cheaper a 4 x 8 sht is like 38 bucks I think at wayne lumber on the AW Trail.
I also stock Balsa core, white gelcoat, polyester and epoxy resin here in Toledo.

[BradB]

If I was you I would just use plywood for such a small area your not going to save much weight and the plywood will last basically forever if it is sealed in glass. The only wood left in my boat is the transom and the engine stringers, and if I was doing it again I would use plywood just for the cost savings. I have a bunch of money and TIME tied up in an old Baja that ain't worth chit and isn't really what I want anyway, but hey I probably have the most high tech 240 sport out there. :D



thats kinda my theory. wood and polyester ws what was used to build the boat if its done correctly it will last a long time. Unless the boat was built in epoxy I would would just stick with polyester resin. The only down side to Epoxy is its so expensive and cure times.

[insanity]

Oh man... decisions decisions.... there is a place a few miles from my house that will sell Douglas Fir Marine grade plywood for pretty cheap (4 x 8 half inch 56 bucks, 4 x 8 three quarter inch 78 bucks) and they will sell partial sheets for a 20% upcharge.

This means that I could get my 2 x 2 section for $11.70 and my 2 x 4 section of half inch for $14.00.

Hmmmm.

Toledo Plywood? Sounds close to their prices.

Anyhow as BradB mentioned, the Luan (sp?) is about the same thing and actually seems a little better than the marine ply I bought. And half the price. If the rest of the boat is plywood and has held up this long, that little piece you put in there should last as long/longer than you have the boat.

[fund razor]

That's what I did. This would be different if I were starting with a new boat. A plywood patch in a plywood structure is ok with me. But I am still going across the back of my repair with an additional sheet of "1/2." That I will tab into the corners and then brush west system over it. Maybe a glass mat.

I may be wrong with my terminology "epoxy."

I am using west system. Because it is a two-part, I called it epoxy.

[glassdave]

That's what I did. This would be different if I were starting with a new boat. A plywood patch in a plywood structure is ok with me. But I am still going across the back of my repair with an additional sheet of "1/2." That I will tab into the corners and then brush west system over it. Maybe a glass mat.

I may be wrong with my terminology "epoxy."

I am using west system. Because it is a two-part, I called it epoxy.

no mat with epoxy only binderless stiched glass will work. Not sure a repair like this warrants Coosa. Its fantastic stuff without a doubt but if your just patching something you've cut out of plywood and not replacing the entire piece i'm not sure it worth the effort and cost to get you hands on a sheet of Coosa. If anything get a sheet of scored high density foam core if not that marine ply will be fine.

Actually the correct glass to use in an epoxy system would be something like a 1800 or 1200 laminate (or any XX zero zero bi ax) without the chop mat stitched to it. Mat really has no place with epoxy

[fund razor]

Yeah, epoxy was right. Mat was wrong. :)

It's a "patch," but it's a whole section from stringer to stringer. It is not the entire bulkhead all the way to the top. Still think wood is the way the more that I think about it.

[Trim'd Up]

Hey fund, I think I have a piece of 1/2" divynycell h80 with 1 layer of 1708/epoxy on each side. I will measure it if your interested. It is over 4' long but I am not sure if it is 2' tall. Do you need exactly 2' tall?
Chad

[fund razor]

The area that I will eventually "cap" is 31 inches wide from stringer to stringer and about 16 inches high at the deepest point, at the V.
Kind of shaped like home plate. Roughly the size and shape of one end of the belly tank.

I mean, it would be cool to put a non-wood product between the tank and the wood... and that outer layer will go from stringer to stringer.

[ChiefApache]

The area that I will eventually "cap" is 31 inches wide from stringer to stringer and about 16 inches high at the deepest point, at the V.
Kind of shaped like home plate. Roughly the size and shape of one end of the belly tank.

I mean, it would be cool to put a non-wood product between the tank and the wood... and that outer layer will go from stringer to stringer.

Rob might have a contact for starbord. Call him 440-413-3589.

[fund razor]

Rob might have a contact for starbord. Call him 440-413-3589.

I will call him and say hi. :D
I was looking for the coosa type stuff.... but went with wood.

[fund razor]

Thanks for the input guys. I learned alot as always.

Thanks for the heads up on the epoxy vs resin issue Dave. I got some more coaching on the side.

I am going with resin over wood.

This thread was helpful, thanks again.

[Geronimo36]

Post some pics for us!!