Materials and Suppliers

The web can be a shoppers dream. It allows you to buy almost anything from anywhere in the world, but at a price. Most materials and equipment you will need can be obtained here in New Zealand. By shopping around you can pay for some products the same in $NZD as you would in $USD. With our exchange rate that's a 50% saving. The rare book or tool may still have to be brought from overseas, but these are not necessary for most designs. Finding where to get the materials can be the hard part.

We have a great selection of wood and wood based materials here. By looking around it is easy to cut the cost and find better quality material then at your local hardware store. The closer you get to the source the cheaper and more choice you will have. Examples are: Sawmills, local farmers, specialised timberyards, abourists, plantation owners etc. If you are interested in using natives and are unable to find a source then consider recycled timber. The odd nail hole could be cut around or included to add character.

Not only can we easily get imported wood, we also have a great variety of timber indigenous to New Zealand. With Strip Building Cedar is the imported wood of choice because of its light weight and good working qualities. But can be replaced by Paulownia, Kahikatea or other woods with similar specifications. Even the humble Pinus Radiata has its place. Ash and the various Oaks are commonly used for creating ribs in Skin on Frame designs because they steam bend well. Instead consider using Mangeao or heart Rimu which bends just as easily.

When choosing wood look for lengths with straight grain and very few knots. Some wood like Cedar can also change colour along its length, this could cause problems later when matching strips. It can be hard to see the true colour of wood when it is piled up nice and dry at the timber yard. When the salesman has turned away, quickly rub some spit on the a chosen piece. This will darken the wood enough to get some idea what it would look like after being soaked in epoxy. A more polite way is to ask for a wet cloth. If the piece is rough sawn and has been stored for a long time then the grade will be harder to determine. If a knot is present you will see a swirl mark in the loose fiber. To check the colour, ask the person selling if you can attack it with your pen knife and take a small sliver off. Wet the cut you have made to bring out the grain.

For those of you with a block of land or a suitable tree in the backyard which has to be felled, you can mill your own wood. A portable sawmill or chainsaw guide will be needed. Unless you are planning to build a SOF, the wood will have to be air dried for a few months before using.

Wood types and properties are so numerous and varied, I have created an extra page to list the most common ones:

With most overseas Stitch & Glue designs, marine grade Okume ply is recommended. Asking for this in NZ will only produce blank looks. Instead try for Gaboon ply. Other types of ply like Meranti and Redwood, Fijian Maple etc. can also be used. Marine ply stamped with BS1088 is best, but since it can get up to $80NZ a sheet (depending on availability and location) cheaper types may be used. Veneers glued with waterproof glues are not necessary since the kayak will be protected by the epoxy.

The problem you may encounter with the cheaper grades are voids. In 3 ply the outer veneers are normally of good quality since this is what shows. To lessen the cost of manufacture and to use resources to the maximum the center veneer are the "rejects" and can contain gaps. Depending on where they are located these voids can interfere with how the ply bends when stitching the panels and are weak points in the finished kayak. The problem can be solved by either injecting epoxy into the voids or cutting to expose them and filling with a fairing mix.

North Island

Name	Address	Phone	E-mail or Web Site	Comments
B.B.S Timbers	82 Henderson Valley Rd Henderson Auckland	0-9-836 0103	info@bbstimbersltd.co.nz	Cheap and good service. Importers of Gaboon ply
Timpan City	21 Walls Road Penrose Auckland	0800 846 726	www.timpan.co.nz	Contact Nathan, Very helpful.
Plytech International	27 Bowden Rd Mt Wellington Auckland	09 573 5016		All forms of plywood. Will deliver nationwide.
Plywood and Marine	Auckland	09 476 5100
CedarCorp	Albany	09 415 8112	http://www.cedarcorp.co.nz	A large supplier of Cedar and other exotics
Paulownia Enterprises	Hamilton (will deliver)	07 8295627	http://www.paulownia.co.nz	Great service. Timber only - no ply

South Island

Name	Address	Phone	E-mail or Web Site	Comments
Hampton & Co Ltd	151 Ferry Road Christchurch	03 381 0849		Fijian maple, Meranti, Gaboon, Gaboon / Meranti composite
Timpan City	23a Cumnor Tce Christchurch	03 381 3320	www.timpan.co.nz	Good supplies of BS 1088

Unless you are building a skin on frame, you will be using some form of fiberglass to sheath the hull. The layer or layers of glass strengthens the hull and protects the wood core. In this sort of composite makeup the total is greater then the sum of its parts. A wood core kayak is lighter yet stronger then a kayak made entirely of just fiberglass or wood. Seeing a wood composite kayak for the first time, many people have a hard time believing that there is any fiberglass on it. This is because they think of fiberglass as a coloured substance. Without a covering of gel coat and using fiberglass cloth, the resin is clear and adds depth and polish to the kayaks finish.

There are two main sorts of resins used. The cheaper form is Polyester which most commercial boat and kayak manufacturers use. Despite the price advantage it is not often used by the home builder because it is able to absorb water and does not adhere to the wood core as well as Epoxy. You can skimp on the wood quality but I do not recommend skimping on the resin. Epoxy resin is stronger, more durable and wear resistant then polyester. It also has excellent adhesion properties. Both Polyester and Epoxy must be protected from UV light with a good quality varnish or paint.

Epoxy consists of two parts, resin and hardener. The chemical reaction of the two produces a lot of heat. This heat accelerates the reaction further which sets the resin at a faster rate then you could cope with. Allow yourself enough time to work with the epoxy by mixing small batches and use a shallow container to reduce bulk. Because heat can reduce pot life, hardeners are available with a slow curing time for warm environments or fast curing for use in colder areas. Using a slow cure hardener in cold climates will only frustrate you since it could be days before you can touch the kayak again.

The use of epoxy can be expanded by the addition of extenders. These are different forms of glue, fairing and filling powders. Apart from the commercial products you can also use sanding dust from your hull (wood flour), baking flour, even photocopy toner powder. By combining commercial and homemade extenders you can get a good colour match to your hull for fillets and glue lines.

A word of warning about a practice by retailers I came across when looking for resins. Some retailers sell the resin and hardener separately. This is a way of inflating the price of the product. The resin to hardener ratio must be exact for the resin to set at maximum strength. If you run out of one before the other, then you have been mixing it wrong and your epoxy will be either very brittle or will not set. Selling them separately is like buying a new car and then being asked to pay extra for the engine. Retailers buy the product as a package, they should sell it the same way. If you come across a shop doing this then look elsewhere, it will be much cheaper.

Name	Address	Phone	E-mail or Web Site	Comments
AWLCraft (Altex Coatings)	123 Halsey Street Freemans Bay Auckland 225 Oropi Road Greerton Tauranga	09 307 9033 07 5411 221	http://www.altexcoatings.co.nz/	Recommend dealing directly with the depots. Very good service with a high quality product at a cheap price.
International / Epiglass	Most marine shops and hardware stores		http://www.yachtpaint.com	A well known brand. Very informative web site and brochures
Norski	No 10, Bristol Street Riverlands Industrial Park Marlborough South Island	03 578 3316	http://www.norski.co.nz/	NZ manufacturer offering a complete range of Epoxy and Polyester and other fibreglassing products.
West Systems	Adhesive Technologies Ltd. 17 Corbans Ave. Henderson, Auckland	09 838 6961	http://www.westsystem.com	A well known and recommended brand. Fairly expensive here in NZ. Informative site take a look at: Fiberglassing a woodstrip hull