I'm wanting to replace the original forward bench that was removed by the previous owner. I haven't looked at the aft bench to see what exactly it is made of but I did get my first estimate that came in at $632 with a comment that cherry is expensive.

My question is, how much is made out of cherry and how much is just stained plywood? Any ideas on what would be a reasonable estimate for the bench, not including the cushions?

Solid cherry (as are most domestic hardwoods) is quite expensive.

Plywood/veneer is not only cheaper, but more practical for things like you anticipate, but it's still not cheap. While the grain won't have the decorative panache of cherry, birch-veneer ply can be stained to cherry (actually, even cherry is usually stained to "cherry").

I don't know the design of your bench, but I'd suspect one 4'x8' sheet of birch veneer ply would suffice, since it's not exactly going to be at eye level.

Since all the cuts would be straight, and there is no difficult joinery, I'll give a WAG of $250-350.

Towerguy, I build furniture as a hobby and can assure you the wood that doesn't show isn't cherry. As Rusty says, Birch can be stained to look almost the same. Here birch is about $45.00 a sheet and cherry is about $100.00. There is also a hardwood called alder that is commonly called poor man's cherry. I have fooled furniture experts with it for trim and face boards.
Nick

As long as it matches the other bench, I'm definitely wanting the cheaper stuff. Durability and quality! If I can do it cheaper, I'm in. Armed with these two suggestions, it gives me an idea of what I can look for myself as far as materials go.

Considering the bull nose corners, I'm wondering if I'm going to be forced into building both of them so they match construction, grain and stain.

RE: Plywood. If you use plywood, whether it has a "cherry" top (visible) ply or some other, the edges will show as stacked plies. Edging strips (very thin veneers) in 1/2", 3/4", and 1" sizes are available and can be trimmed to height; they usually come in rolls and many have an adhesive backing - or you may glue them on. They are available in grains and "colors" e.g. walnut, and may be stained to match the primary wood. Great stuff.
PS: A 3/4" X 5-1/2" (aka "1X6") X 8' length Cherry board is $40 to $50 at the Fine Woods store in Austin, so, yeah, Cherry ain't cheap.
PPS: If you're looking at plywood, check out "Baltic Birch" which has more/thinner, e.g. 7, plies and is much stronger -no bending/sagging- and takes stain very well. It usually comes in 5'X5' sheets, rather than 4X8. Aaand..check out a "Fine Wood" store rather than Home Depot; prices are the same for the cheap stuff and you'll find wood you will actually wish to use.

I'll second gunner's comments on self-adhesive edging strips.

The woodgrain trim strips on my Corian counters were peeling, as were the edges on many cabinet doors. I bought some edging material, stained it to match the existing trim, & rigged up a Rube Goldberg device to strip the long lengths needed for the counter tops. The material was also slightly wider than the thickness of the cabinet doors, but it was easily trimmed after it was applied.

I applied the material with a hobby shop iron they use to apply model aircraft coverings. Worked like a charm.

I also second the strips and the Baltic Birch. It's the preferred material for building mounts for certain types of telescope, due to its durability and stability.