New Boats--Let's see em

[Richard K.C. Mo.]

Cedar?!!!!!

Bill, cedar works forever, lifeboats hardly ever get used, light too.
RichardKCMo

For stringers I have used poplar, obece, some kind of strange mahogany, douglas fir, pine, and sitka spruce. The mahogany sucked, one of the softer specie of mahagony. Poplar is okay but hard to bend and has no advantage pricewise. Douglas fir is the strongest and heaviest and hardest to bend, good idea to reduce stringer size (cross section) with fir. Pine is fine, and cheap. Obece became my standard stringer wood, easy to shape and bend, glued well, and not outragiously expensive. Sitka spruce, light and strong, is hands down the best wood for stringers, but it is costly.

Never tried cedar but that seems like a good choice. Eastern white cedar also goes by the name juniper and many boats have been built with juniper. A few very large - like 40' or so - wood commercial fishing boats have been planked with juniper/cedar. Last fall I helped push a 20' ocean dory made with juniper off the Outer Banks beach. Shovers were my son-in-law, 15 year old grandaughter, and skinny me. No prob, juniper wood dory was very light.

[MN1]

Got that right - Obeche is sawdust waiting to happen when you plane and rip it or sand it. I got my Obeche from Foreign & Domestic Hardwoods located in Bowling Green Virginia.

I got a load from the same people a long time ago. I ordered enough to have it delivered by their truck to my shop. That was in the 80s and I still have some left. I got to chose the lightest ones for my Sport C boat. Some boards weigh more than twice than others.
Mark Nelson

[canoecty]

Obeche

Lumber Co in White Plains, NY is probably M.L. Condon Co. Inc. phone 914-946-4111
Another good source is Advantage Trim & Lumber in Buffalo, NY toll free 1-877-232-3915 or www.advantagelumber.com

Good luck;
Dave Curtis

[SAWYER]

Thanks Guys, I Will Try Them.ss

[crankbearing]

Yep! I think thats it.

Would That Be Harbor Sales?

I think that;s the one. I know they are a couple up in that area. I think that World Panel in FL, is the main importer so if you contact them they could proably tell you who in the US carries it.

There is also a place in Detroit or around there that is an importer but I could never get them to return my calls or price a skid.

Regards,

[Bill Huson]

I cannot remeber the name, but my supplier gets it from the company in White Plains, NY. I bought out the last of his inventory in Sept, but I am sure they have more by now.

Wear a mask when planing obeche, the stuff I have has been in the warhouse for about 5 years so it is very dry and it makes residue lots of it.

Regards,

Got that right - Obeche is sawdust waiting to happen when you plane and rip it or sand it. I got my Obeche from Foreign & Domestic Hardwoods located in Bowling Green Virginia.

[SAWYER]

Would That Be Harbor Sales?

[crankbearing]

Obeche

I Wish I Knew Where To Find Obeeche. I Have Been Using Select White Pine And It Works Very Well But Is Slightly Heavier Than Spruce. Any Body Know?

I cannot remeber the name, but my supplier gets it from the company in White Plains, NY. I bought out the last of his inventory in Sept, but I am sure they have more by now.

Wear a mask when planing obeche, the stuff I have has been in the warhouse for about 5 years so it is very dry and it makes residue lots of it.

Regards,

[SAWYER]

I Wish

I Wish I Knew Where To Find Obeeche. I Have Been Using Select White Pine And It Works Very Well But Is Slightly Heavier Than Spruce. Any Body Know?

[Bill Huson]

boat wood . . .

For stringers I have used poplar, obece, some kind of strange mahogany, douglas fir, pine, and sitka spruce. The mahogany sucked, one of the softer specie of mahagony. Poplar is okay but hard to bend and has no advantage pricewise. Douglas fir is the strongest and heaviest and hardest to bend, good idea to reduce stringer size (cross section) with fir. Pine is fine, and cheap. Obece became my standard stringer wood, easy to shape and bend, glued well, and not outragiously expensive. Sitka spruce, light and strong, is hands down the best wood for stringers, but it is costly.

Never tried cedar but that seems like a good choice. Eastern white cedar also goes by the name juniper and many boats have been built with juniper. A few very large - like 40' or so - wood commercial fishing boats have been planked with juniper/cedar. Last fall I helped push a 20' ocean dory made with juniper off the Outer Banks beach. Shovers were my son-in-law, 15 year old grandaughter, and skinny me. No prob, juniper wood dory was very light.

[daveracerdsh]

New boat

Red cedar is so easy to work with! I am suprised more boat builders are not using it. I found the spruce I was paying big bucks for was getting worse and worse quality wise....There were so many knots in it I ended up throwing away quite a bit. I have also found that cedar does not split any worse then spruce or any other wood....and it seems to bend pretty easily. The cockpit sides are a special 18 mil (I think) marine birch. I found it at Homebuilders in Seattle. I wanted to use it cause it is not only light, but has a nice color to it when the epoxy is applied. The rest of the boat is 3 and 6 mil Okume plywood. My best geuss is that boat will weigh around 100 lbs when ready for the water. Just curious..what are other boat builders using for wood and glueing systems? Dave racer

[Mike Beegle]

Here some new lumber

Built for Bill Atkinson.. Being evicted out of my garage sunday after i get the nose cone on it and seal it.... BMH Marc Johnson plans ..

[Bill Blackwell]

Dave A.,

Any problems with the Red Cedar splitting? Does it bend easily?

Also, what are your cockpit sides made up of?

BRB

[daveracerdsh]

New Boat

Actually, its Western Red Cedar. Sometimes when you put epoxy on it it takes a very dark tone to it. I used it for all the stringers and frames...its very very light and strong. I went thru about 20 boards looking for the nicest stuff I could find, especially for the stringers and frames inside the cockpit. Daveracer

[Dave M]

DaveDSH

What type of wood are you using for stringers ? Looks like walnut or something exotic !