Wood trim projects on a boat take endless rounds of sanding and varnishing. Plywood is workable but it tends to delaminate or rot. Despair not: Some very good options exist in the form of Starboard, polymer lumber, Foam PVC and related plastics. They generally cost more but save time because the material doesn't need paint. In fact, paint won't even stick.

Don't confuse polymer lumber with plastic lumber; the two are very different. Plastic lumber is a composite material made from wood fiber and recycled plastics. Polymer lumber and similar cousins are solid, homogeneous materials that do not contain wood fibers, or anything else but plastic. As such they are waterproof, and require no finishing.

StarBoard â„¢ is perhaps the most well known of these products. Manufactured by King Plastics in Florida, it is sold in sheet form as well as fabricated products. What most people don't realize is that there is a whole family of StarBoard products, as well as similar offerings from other manufacturers.

Here's a look at what is available.Cabela'sStandard StarBoard is different sizes and thicknesses.

THE PATRIARCH

StarBoard is the first and oldest in the family. Used in boat building for years, the material comes in eight colors: WhiteWhite, Light Gray, Dolphin Gray, Sanshade, Artic White, Seafoam, Seapearl and Black.

As mentioned above, StarBoard is a solid material, with the color running completely through the sheet. It is highly resistant to UV rays and will not discolor over time. Waterproof, it will not swell, delaminate or splinter. The surface has a smooth matte finish that is easy to keep clean.

Standard sheet sizes, available in many marine stores, are 54 x 96 inches or 48 x 96 inches. Available thicknesses are 1/4–inch, 3/8–inch, 1/2–inch, 3/4–inch, 1–inch and up to 1 1/2–inch, though retailers do not regularly stock all colors and sizes. The larger sheets can weigh 45 pounds, for a ¼–inch sheet, to 240 pounds for a 1 ½–inch sheet. Sheet prices, depending on the width, range from $190 to $480. Here's a few price comparisons: A sheet of 1/2–inch thick StarBoard will run you $330; the price for plywood would range from $73 for fir to $286 for teak. (See chart comparing StarBoard product and assorted plywood prices).

THE OFFSPRING

StarBoard AS stands for "Anti–Skid." The sheets come with a raised dot pattern that provides a non–skid surface as well as water drainage from the surface. It comes in the same eight colors as standard StarBoard so an exact color match between the two is possible. Standard sheet sizes are the same, but this product is only available in ½–inch, ¾–inch and 1–inch thicknesses.

This product is great for decks, swim platforms, ladder treads as well as shower and engine room gratings.

Weight is one of the few drawbacks of the standard StarBoard products. StarBoard â„¢ XL is a lighter alternative, having a closed cell foam construction that is 30 percent lighter than standard StarBoard. It is useful where the edge finish and structural strength aren't as important. It comes in eight colors, matching other StarBoard products.

Standard sheet sizes are 60–by–96 inches and 48–by–96 inches. Available thicknesses are 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4–inches. Full sheets weights range from 36 pounds for the thinnest sheet up to 109 pounds for a 3/4–inch sheet.

While other StarBoard products are made from virgin polymers, StarLite â„¢ XL is made from recycled polymers. The construction is closed cell foam that is 35 percent lighter than regular StarBoard.

This product is great in behind the scenes applications where the edges won't show. This material is an excellent substitute for the plywood often used in seat backs and bottoms because it holds staples well and won't rot or absorb water.

Paul EsterleA companionway drop board fashioned from KLEER.Many of our boats have cushions that consist of a layer of foam placed on a plywood back plate. The upholstery is then wrapped around the front, over the foam and stapled to the plywood in back. The plywood backings deteriorates with age and contact with water. The StarLite XL lightweight product makes an excellent substitute for the plywood cushion backs. It is easy to shape and accepts and holds staples very well. Best of all, it won't deteriorate with age.

Standard sheet sizes are 60–by–96 inches and 48–by–96 inches. It comes in ¼, 3/8, ½, and ¾–inch thicknesses, but the color choices are more limited. The only colors available are utility grade White, Gray or Black.

E–Board â„¢ is a relative new product, available in only one thickness, 5/32–inch, and one sheet size, 48–by–96 inches. This product is designed to make the installation of electrical and plumbing systems organized and quick. The sheet's surface is covered with loops that accept wire tires, which are also called zip ties. The wire ties hold the electric wires and plumbing lines in a neat and orderly fashion. Wire and plumbing runs look better because E–Board forces them into straight lines and 90–degree turns.

PRODUCT AVAILABILITYPaul EsterleThis custom propane locker was a better fit than a ready-made commercial one.

While King Plastics makes all these products, finding them can be difficult. Most marine stores will carry smaller size pieces of standard StarBoard, distributed by Taco Metals. These sheets usually range from 12–by–12 inches up to a half sheet. Larger sizes can usually be special ordered. The problem is that most retailers do not carry and won't order anything but the standard StarBoard.

The larger sheets are heavy, so make sure that the store you order it from will have it delivered to the store at no charge. Freight will be expensive and most motor carriers will not deliver to your house. Another option is to ask your marina or boatyard if they have a local distributor that will deliver. The distributor I order my StarBoard(R) from delivers to my marina at no charge. The King Plastics web site (see link) has a feature that will find the nearest distributor to you, by state.

At times, I only need a small piece of StarBoard, not a large sheet, especially in the thicker sizes. I have had a good deal of success using eBaymotors (see link) for these pieces. Look under boat parts for suppliers. I recently purchased about a square foot of 1 ½–inch StarBoard for less than $20. Having to buy full sheet (distributors don't sell partial sheets) would have made the project prohibitively expensive. Exercise all the usual cautions when buying on line.

DESIGN ISSUES

Most advertising literature for StarBoard touts it as a direct replacement for plywood, though the material has some physical characteristics that must be taken into account.

StarBoard is not as stiff as plywood. A loaded shelf that spans three to four feet built out of StarBoard would start sagging. This cold flow characteristic must be accounted for when using StarBoard structurally.

The usual method is to provide supports in the form of stringers or other edge supports under the item. In the case of the shelf, a two–inch strip fastened vertically under the shelf edges would probably be sufficient.

Unless you use one of the lighter varieties, StarBoard will be heavier than plywood and the supporting structure will need to be that much stronger. Items like storage boxes need to be securely mounted to resist shifting in a seaway.

None of these are critical issues; they just need to be accounted for in the project design.

FABRICATIONPaul EsterleThis proof-of-concept KLEER hadrail has worked perfectly and weathered well.

Here the advertising is dead on. The material is really is easy to work with. Hand and power woodworking tools do a great job. I particularly like using a router to trim edges. In fact, my usual practice is to cut the piece just slightly oversize with my jig saw and then trim it to the final dimension with a router. I use a bit with a ball bearing on the end to act as a guide. If I clamp a guide bar on the curt line, the router bit will follow the edge of the guide bar and gives me a smooth, finished edge.

Edges can be sanded but you will have to move through a progression of finer and finer grit sandpaper until you get a matte surface equal to the texture of the top and bottom surfaces. Standard wood drill bits and hole saws also work well.

I design all my StarBoard projects to be assembled with mechanical fasteners. I pilot drill the fastener holes and then use stainless steel self–tapping screws. You can bung the holes if you wish, but I use either flat or oval headed screws countersunk into the surface. Another option is to use oval headed screws in finishing washers. The fasteners don't tend to split StarBoard.

The material can be glued if you use the right glue and the right gluing process. Most common adhesives, 3M5300, epoxy, etc., will not adhere to StarBoard.

The trick is to use a special technique of flame treating the surface and then applying glue specifically designed for StarBoard, using standard propane torch equipment with a wide, flame–spreading nozzle. Passing the flame over the surface at the right speed will oxidize the surface. If you do it right, this oxidation doesn't burn or discolor the surface. The oxidation gives the adhesive something to grab onto and affect a strong bond. One supplier of these specialty adhesives is Poly–Bonder (see link). This site will provide complete directions for the flame treating process.

As stated before, StarBoard requires no finishing. In fact, paints will not stick to StarBoard. The color you buy will be the color of the finished project.

ALTERNATIVESPaul EsterleA StarBoard mount for a flare container.

The StarBoard family is not the only option. Another product is less expensive, lighter, and in most cases just as good. A foamed PVC product also can be worked with standard wood working tools. It does have the advantage that it can be glued with common PVC cement and can also be painted. The foam cells are very small and unnoticeable in most instances.

This material has been in use in house construction for quite a while. It is used as corner and cover boards. If you ever watch "This Old House," Tommy Silva used it to trim out windows in an East Boston Project.

It comes in a variety of sizes and thicknesses under several trade names. Komex and Kleer are two popular brands. These products are becoming more and more popular at regular (not big box) lumberyards. Most retailers will be able to order larger size sheets and different thicknesses for you.

Initially, I was skeptical. I was given enough material to build two projects, a custom handrail system and a new drop board for one of my project boats. But almost three years of use have proven the material to be a good choice for the marine environment.

The first project was building replacement handrails, replacing the existing well–worn mahogany ones. This project exposed a lot of the bare foam edges of the material to the elements. It also provided some experience in gluing components together with PVC cement. The design accounted for the less stiff nature of the product and has not deformed in the three years of use. I left the edges unpainted and exposed to see what would happen. It is slightly more prone to dirt and mildew build–up over the winter but not much more than the top and bottom surfaces.

The advertising literature for these products states that they can be painted. Their use as trim board for houses would suggest that they do this well, though I haven't tested this feature yet.

Fabricating components was just as easy or perhaps m ore so than working with StarBoard, but again, not by much. All in all, though, the foamed PVC is a viable and economical substitute for StarBoard.

NEXT WEEK: plastic polymer, tips and tricks.

Paul Esterle is Technical Editor for Small Craft Advisor Magazine, and his freelance work has appeared in Sail, BoatWorks, Voyaging and Good Old Boat magazines. He has produced a series of boating videos and lectures widely. He also works at West Marine and has written product reviews for the company.