Hello Zachary,

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As a builder of a recently completed Eco 6 sailing catamaran I will try and answer some of your questions.

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• Firstly you have chosen two very different designs, one being a small houseboat which is great for living onboard and cruising rivers. canals and coastal backwaters. The other is a reasonably higher performance yacht which is for a completely different kind of boating. Both boats are great for their intended purpose so it really depends on the kind of boating you want to do. For me I am a sailor and like performance sailing, so I would go for the yacht, but when I get old, I am only 68 at present, the houseboat my suit for some gentle pottering around our coast.
• Plywood sheet size – I would not worry too much about this. Sometimes different manufacturers make their sheets to different sizes. 2400 x 1200 being the traditional standard size, but some make them 2450 x 1250. Sometimes you can also get much longer sheets. But the plywood is all going to be shaped and cut up so the actual sheet size does not matter too much. What does matter is the quality.
• Timber size – You may not be able to get timber to the exact dimensions specified in the plans. For my build I purchased rough sawn timber and dressed it down to size myself. For this it is handy not have some good power tools. A table saw is nice to have, but at least a circular saw, and an electric plane. You also will not be able to get boat length timber so you will probably need to do a lot of scarfing. The important thing, especially in a sailing catamaran where weight is important, is to not go over dimension with the timber sizes, stay with what is specified in the plans.
• Where to build – Ideally as close to home as possible. Building any kind of boat is going to take a lot of hours. At a guess as a first time boatbuilder the Eco62 is going to take you at least two years of part time work, and the larger sailing catamaran probably 3 or more years. If you build full time you will do it in less. The importance of this is that your building location wants to be close to where you live, otherwise it is going to be too hard to actually go and get on with the job. And be warned, it takes a very large amount of dedication, perseverance, and just plain hard work to complete any boatbuilding project.
• Not sure about the fused silica in your part of the world. I just purchase the appropriate WEST system additives which is usually identified as glue powder, filling and fairing powder, or light weight fairing powder.

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Good luck with it,

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David