Sources and Endorsements

Paint:

We are huge fans of George Kirby Jr. Paint Co., makers of traditional marine paint for over 175 years. It’s great traditional oil-based paint, missing much of the toxicity of most modern products. The colors are rich and lovely, and it brushes or rolls beautifully. George Kirby IV still runs the family business and is a good friend and an absolute delight. Give him a call.
kirbypaint.com

Epoxy:

Our friend Greg Loehr developed Resin Research 2040 a few years back and we will use no other. It’s extremely low toxicity, and the most resilient epoxy we know of, i.e. not brittle, which is invaluable in the battleship hull we build. It’s also more affordable than many of the better known brands.
resinresearch.net

Acetone. Nope. Vinegar:

We run an acetone-free shop. That stuff is just plain evil, and contact with skin carries toxins straight into your bloodstream. Breathing it may dissolve that last remaining brain cell. We use white vinegar to clean up with, cleaning tools and globs that got on your clothes of skin. It works just great and smells a lot better too. If we need to thin epoxy we use xylene. Rarely. And out of doors.

Fiberglass Cloth:

We buy what we can from Fisheries Supply in Seattle, including 50″ cloth to cover the biaxial bottoms, and some widths of glass tape.
For the 50″ 25oz Biaxial cloth and 4″ biaxial tape we go to Fiberglass Supply, also in Washington. 

Silicon Bronze Fasteners:

Ron Pimm at Top Notch Fasteners has the best selection and prices in silicon bronze that we’ve found and is great to work with.
https://tnfasteners.com/

Bow eyes:

When our clients can afford it we cast our own skookum bow eyes and stern eyes. But for the more pragmatic boatbuilder we recommend Buck Algonquin Bronze 3/8″ x 4″ Bow Eye, available from Hamilton Marine or Fisheries Supply. For some reason the 6″ version is cheaper but you’ll have to thread much of the shaft on those, which is a pain.

Plywood:

We use Meranti Hydrotek marine plywood for our hulls. It’s a bit heavier than Sapele or Okume, but significantly tougher and lower priced. Note—be sure to get Hydrotek, not the lower quality Aquatek. We get ours in bulk from Forest Plywood in the industrial underbelly of Los Angeles.
forestplywood.com

Framing Lumber:

All our ribwork and deck framing is Port Orford cedar. It’s kind of hard to find, but is still harvested sustainably in southern coastal Oregon. We go up there with the big trailer every year or two, and try and get in a few river trips on the Rogue, McKenzie and neighboring streams. Suppliers include East Fork Lumber, Metcalf Sawmill, and Bear Creek Lumber.
eastforklumber.com
metcalfsawmill.com
bearcreeklumber.com

Pine Tar:

We use pine tar in our oil finish to give a bit of color and add a fabulous aroma. But domestic pine tar is stinky and kind of nasty and the good kiln-burnt pine tar is mighty hard to find. Nowadays Hamilton Marine is carrying  Auson Akta Tratjara from Sweden. It’s quite lovely.
hamiltonmarine.com

Neoprene Outer Chines:

We buy 1/2” x 1-1/2” neoprene for your outer chines and glue it on with Weldwood Contact cement. We get it from Thunder Technologies in Michigan.
thundertechllc.com

Caulking:

We’re big fans of Big Stretch. Although it says it’s not for “areas of water submersion” we know of several other boatyards that are sinners like us. It’s latex, easy to clean up, never gets brittle, and is a terrific sealant. It is very affordable and most hardware stores and many online sources carry it.

Primer:

Although we have been told it won’t work, we use Zinnser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer–a water-based product. So far, for a decade or so anyhow, it works just fine under marine enamel.

Weatherstripping:

We use Trim-Lok X119HT. It’s a 3/4″ wide D-shaped self-adhesive product, although we do coat the hatch-lid area with contact cement before adhering it. You can find it online from Zoro or other suppliers.

Patching tape for river repairs:

We prefer Leak Stopper Waterproof Tape, available at Tractor Supply, Amazon, and various online sellers. It sticks like crazy and conforms to uneven surfaces. Remove it with a torch-heated putty knife. But we beg you, only patch the outside of the boat. That stops the water from flowing into the boat and into the wood. Patching the inside of the boat doesn’t work well, and forces the water into the broken wood. Plus, it’s a bitch getting the tape off inside of hatches. Gorilla makes a similar tape that works well.

Sex Nuts:

These are the barrel nuts we use to on the outside of gunwales fasten bolts. They are hard to find and our old sources dried up. Fortunately Jordan River Boat Works has started manufacturing them. Look for them on Instagram or Facebook.

Fairing:

We prefer System Three QuikFair. It is very workable, easy to sand, and Cricket really likes how it smells. And it is easy to dig out of the slotted screws when doing repairs, unlike thickened epoxy.

Never Enough Clamps:

Warning–we love Higland Woodworking Bar Clamps, but they are highly addictive. We currently have over 100 of them and we still run short. We’ve tried a lot of different brands of one-handed bar clamps and the vast majority are pure garbage. These are very affordable, have nice, smooth action, give good squeeze, and turn around into spreaders when needed. Check ’em out.

Ice Picks:

Although some old school boat builders use finish nails and a hammer to establish their points while lofting, we find ice picks work far better and they’re much easier to work with. Minnesota Ice Picks make and excellent and long-lasting pick. We,ve been hammering ours into lofting tables for more than a decade and have yet to serioously bend one. You owe it to yourself to loft your boat before you build it, and you owe it to yourself to get these ice picks with which to do it.

Pastry Bags:

For application of thickened epoxy and caulking we use disposable pastry bags. They give you so much control and precision in placement of sticky icky goo. Look for disposable pastry bages on eBay–they come in vaious sizes in packs of 100 for way cheap. We keep one full of Big Stretch caulk handy in the shop and on the river–if you tie a knot in the top and pinch the exit hole flat, the Big Stretch will stay usable for months.