Check out Boulter Plywood Co.  They're a wholesale supplier of every hardwood/softwood/plywood known to man (they definitely carry okoume, sapele, and every other mahogany you can think of).  A bit of a ride for you, since they're in Somerville, MA, but certainly cheaper then having it shipped from Annapolis.  Also, Leonard Lumber Co. in Durham, CT may be able to help.  I think they only stock hardwoods though, if I remember correctly.   

~Chris

If you just need it for the coaming, I would use non-marine grade okoume.   I read an old forum that Connecticut Plywood could order it for you.  Non-marine grade is much cheaper, I can get it for $14/sheet.

http://www.connply.com

Purchase coaming from CLC.

Kim

I am still contemplating what to do. I am a little hesitant to spend so much money on just the cockpit coaming. Over $100 is a lot for those materials.  To put it into perspective, I could have purchased a whole wood parts kit for $550. So the reality of the coaming costing over a $100 is about 1/5 of the cost of these parts?  I can understand the coaming costing about $50 plus shipping but $100 is too much.

I think the best idea, maybe even Laslo will agree, is to...

I. I have a piece of 4 mm Okoume sitting idle.

2. I have CLC 17 prints.

3. I can hack out a rough cut of coaming pieces in 10 min.

4. Ten bucks for wood plus shipping.  I bet its under 50 bucks.  Let me know if yer interested. No charge for labor.  Just 'Pass it Forward'.

Kim

The copyright thought struck me after I made my offer.  I am assuming Danno has purchased plans which should give the OK to make one set of coaming pieces from those plans.

 Kim

Are you buiding from plans?  I'm guessing that you are, or you'd have the parts in the kit, right? 

Next question: How do you plan to finish the cockpit?  If you're going to varnish, you may have to pay the price for the okoume.  If you're going to paint, you have a lot more flexibility.  I don't like the look of varnished scarfs, so I decided fairly early on to paint the cockpit and the deck surrounding it, while varnishing the fore and aft decks (I also painted the hull). 

Having decided that, I built up my coaming using some reasonably good outdoor quality but still inexpensive 1/4" Douglas fir plywood.  After all, the construction of the cockpit coaming is much heavier than the hull and deck, so the thicker plywood is not a liability.  I used thickened epoxy to fill the voids.  (I also sawed kerfs across the underside of each piece in the laminate to make it easier to bend it to conform to the deck' curvature, and I laminated the coaming one layer at a time to make the assembly porcess easier if a good deal slower.) To get everything to come out at the right height, I also built up one layer using scraps of okoume; as it is sandwiched between the fir plywod, it didn't have to be a single piece, after all.

Anyway, once I was finished and had sanded, sealed, primed and painted the coaming, it looked fine.

Just a thought.

DANO

   Geneal woodcraft in New London carries marine plywood.

www.generalwoodcraftinc.com

531 Broad St
New London, CT 06320-2511
(860) 444-9663

I havenot bought marine ply but i hae bought solid wood and cabinet ply its excelent qality.

good luck

yacko 

Hi,

As others have said, if you're painting, just use good exterior grade ply.  I used this for my C17 built a couple of years ago, which has been in fresh & salt water and knocked around a bit. 

A coat of thinned epoxy and a couple of coats of marine enamel and it's been no problem.

...although Kim's option looks quite tempting for you.

Regards,
Darren
Melbourne, Australia

Hello,

The other option you might want to consider, especially if you want to varnish rather than paint, is to build the coaming from small pieces of wood.  there are several sites showing how to build a coaming from the strips used for strip built kayaks.  It would be more work but would let your creative side loose and give you a unique kayak,

Ed

I used 3/8" wiggle board to create my coming. It can be purchased in 4' x 8' sheets that will bend, either on the 8' side or the 4' side. I had a piece left over from a eyebrow window job that I had done. I am not sure what other areas call it, but it is basically 3 ply mahogany plywood that takes a pretty severe radius. It finishes nicely and I used 3/8" manilla line for the skirt edge.

Thanks Barge Dude,  That is a pretty good idea. I have use the "wiggle" board before but You just reminded me of it. I guess I will need to  look around for some.

Hello ALL,

       I managed to find another east coast supplier in the Connecticut area. It is located in Enfield, CT -  Connecticut Wood Goup's HARDWOOD OUTLET

The carry several thicknesses of Okume.  3mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 15mm, and 18mm.  BS1088 Grade

http://www.cwghardwoodoutlet.com/

They carry several other plywoods too.  Pricing looks pretty good.