Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 23:29:01 -0700
From: lew plummer <jayhawk@sos.net>
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
Subject: Re: baidarka Wood Question
Rich Frey wrote:
>
> Lew, I think the preferred wood for baidarkas would be pine--based on all
> the talk about this matter over the last year. Yellow pine has been
> mentioned. It is a denser wood than other pine species, so it may be more
> durable, but may not bend quite as easily as other, softer pines. Douglas
> fir I believe should be okay, as long as there are no knots and the grain is
> straight. I have used ponderosa pine from the lumber yard and it has worked
> just fine. For the ribs, white oak seems to be the preferred material,
> unless you are ribbing the boat ala Brinck's Baidarka, where any suitable
> bendable twigs can be substituted. For that type of ribbing I have been
> using maple, which has long spans with few side branches to thwart the
> natural bend already in the branches. So far my wife hasn't noticed all the
> branches missing from the front yard trees ;-) I tried using ironwood,
> which friends who know nothing about building boats had recommended because
> of its resistance to breaking, but found it to be too knotty and hard to get
> smooth bends.
>
> Rich in Wisconsin, who is weeks behind on ribbing his Baidarka
>
> >I tried sending this earlier, but it didn't work (I think).
> >
> >I'm applying the finishing touches to my stripper that I spent all winter
> >building, and went pricing for lumber to begin work on a baidarka this past
> >weekend. It became all too clear that sitka spruce (the preferred wood for
> >gunwales as I understand) is not availbale in the Washington, D.C. area.
> >Will douglas fir or redwood suffice? I don't have access to any guides that
> >list wood properties and a quick search on the net yielded nothing. I guess
> >I'm basically asking for a list of preferred wood to construct the gunwales,
> >stringers, etc. . . I appreciate your help.
> >Lew
> >
> >
We use a combination of western red cedar and yellow cedar here in
Washington. Our boats usually weigh between 25 and 30 lbs. the cedars
are a major contributor to the low weight.
Lew Plummer