From: "Michael O'Flynn" <moflynn@sd23.bc.ca>
To: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Subject: Re: [baidarka] What I'll do differently next time...............
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 19:56:25 -0700
Hi Gene!
Well, after reading your oh-so-sensible reply, I couldn't help but add,
"Hear, hear!"
-----Original Message-----
From: Gene Smith <SmithFrow@worldnet.att.net>
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Date: Monday, August 03, 1998 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: [baidarka] What I'll do differently next time...............
>> A question for my esteemed colleagues. (forgive me patrick), I have
>>heard that red oak tends to rot whereas white oak does not (it rhymes!)_
>Is
>>this information factual.....HAVE I BOUGHT INTO AN URBAN MYTH????? Your
>>opinions, learned gentlemen/women. Gentlepersons. (That's it.)
>>Gentlepersons.
>> Chris
>
>
>Chris, This is a trickier question than it seems - stating "facts" about
>natural materials is usually problematic. You can never really categorize
>wood by species characteristics alone. There is red oak that is pretty
>decent and white oak that is worthless. You also have to ask is it
>heartwood or sapwood? Cut from how big/old a tree? Old timers insisted
>that when the tree was cut had a lot to do with durability (winter best -
>this is the original meaning of "seasoning" the wood). Nowadays, the real
>kicker is, how are you going to finish it? I'd be willing to bet that
there
>are a lot of woods that wouldn't last two seasons if you just made a
>fencepost out of them and stuck them in the ground that will last quite
well
>if coated with a decent epoxy. In *general* white oak is more rot
resistant
>than red oak - but many southern boatbuilders won't use oak at all. Any
>boat that is going to spend its life in northern waters faces a whole
>different set of requirements and demands. Wood requires you to develop
>some expertise in its use. Depending on your point of view, this is either
>the best thing about it - or the worst. I find developing the feel for
>natural materials very rewarding. You also don't get involved in the
>techno-traps that modern miracle ingredients bring about - witness the
>ongoing discussions of this corrosion prevention treatment and that magic
>finish that kills you outright if you use it incorrectly. Don't get me
>wrong, some modern materials are great, and I happily use them. But when
>you find yourself in the quintessential modern bind, where the only way out
>involves more technology and almost invariably a serious injection of cash,
>that crude way that it's been done for thousands of years with hand tools
>and materials scrounged off the beach looks pretty damn good.
>
>Gene Smith
>
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