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Going to be restoring a 1980 Viper. Cousin came up, checked the hull, transom, and float boxes. Everything's soaked, so everything has to be ripped out.

What is the ideal thickness of balsa core to be using? I'm trying to keep costs to a minimum.
I found a (canadian) site that has 2x4 sheets of balsa. 1/2 inch is $61.99 a sheet, 3/8 inch is $42.99 a sheet. Obviously going with the 3/8 is the logical choice, saving $20 a sheet times 8 sheets to do the recore is $160.

Would there really be a performance difference using 3/8 instead of 1/2 for the slight increase in weight? Or are there other factors I havent considered?
Thanks!

Factory core is 1/2 inch. That is also what any shop would use to replace it with. As far as weight, I dont know there would be a lot of weight difference but im sure mostly for structural strength. That is crazy expensive!!!! DO NOT buy from whoever wants to sell you a 24x48 inch sheet of half inch for that price.

Express Composites here in MN has them for $25 a sheet and they are who I got all of my core and glass material from the first go around and a lot of members here have ordered from them. They are great people and the owner(s) are well aware of us here and they will answer just about any question you have. And they will ship anywhere too.

Here is the link to the core material - http://www.expresscomposites.com/?product=baltec-balsa-end-grain-contourable-24-x-48

Hope that helps.

Just seen you were in Canada, I dont know how much differance the CA dollar is compared to the US dollar but either way, $60+ for a sheet of 1/2 is nuts!

Thanks Kev. $25 US is $33 Cdn given current exchange rate. But i imagine EC would then have to charge more for international shipping, and if they ship UPS, UPS will sodomize me on import brokerage charges. Obviously I'll have to shop around, see if i can source anywhere else for cheaper.

Bah, i'm an idiot. For some reason I was thinking 3/8 was thicker than 1/2.
Stupid imperial measurements.

Anyways, balsa still seems to be pricier up here than down there.

Prices per 2x4 sheet, 1/2".

marineoutfitters.ca - $61.99
noahsmarine.com - $44.70
compositescanada.com - $33.28
fibertek.ca - $33.60. (but they're based in British Columbia so who knows what they'd charge for shipping)

EDIT: compositescanada.com so far as the best price, and they're located within the Greater Toronto Area. (Mississauga).
Looks like i've found my supplier.