Hina is a floating backpakc that will carry two people as far away as they wish to go. As with any backpack, the lighter the better. So, we built her from sturdy, but not heavy, woods. Our basic hull materials included those listed above.

Plywood should be waterproof, which means laminated together with glue that won't disentigrate at sea. And the 5/4-fir specified here is a rough lumber measure which assures you of a true one-inch thickness on the finished board. If you ordered simply 1x2 fir, you'd end up with a planed piece of lumber measuring only 11/16 x 1-5/8. You want the full inch.

Just about everything else that went in Hina consisted of short, scroungeable lengths. Such scavenging not only saves money, but draws you into the design process as you adapt your plans to utilize what's available.