Posted by Fred O on November 25, 2002 at 08:24:57:
In Reply to: Re: What wood to use? posted by mitchell on November 15, 2002 at 07:06:16:
I've heard several refer to "Fir" for boat lumber. I hope you're not referring to treated
fir lumber? Last I heard, Fir was kind of a soft weaker lumber, great for framing houses - because it costs less? Probably that fir they use for making GOOD "Trusses" - possibly yellowish southern white pine, mite be good. For sure one cannot tolerate KNOTS!!!! Where/what PINE or FIR do you recommend?
Thanks,
Fred NC
: Are you building Ho
: There are lots of plans to choose from so choose wisely.
: 1st, get a book on boat building woods or a book that discusses suitable boat lumbers.
: As far as lumber, old plans call for oak frames because they hold fastenrs well (back in the day before the invention of good adhesives) but oak does not Glue well. Fir is a good framing lumber too.
: Cherry is dense and does not work easily and would not be the best choice for planking material. Cedar was specified because of weight. You may want to consider building this thing cold molded instead of traditionally planked. Whether you you plank or cold mold, I would use mahogany for outersurfaces. It is pretty, of reasonable light weight, stable, and tools easily.
: I just built a 23 foot mahogany runabout triple cockpit cold molded using mahogany outsides on fir frames and spruce stringers.
: Feel free to correspond if you like. I also have other traditional Hacker Plans for runabouts, and racing hydroplanes and leads on lots more.
: Regards, Mitchell in CT