Subject: Re: [baidarka] basswood?
From: Michael Daly (michaeldaly@rogers.com)
Date: Tue Apr 29 2003 - 20:07:59 EDT
keewatin wrote:
> Based on
> http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood/strength_table.htm
> I also think its about in the western red cedar class. But I dont
> understand the full implications of some of those number as applied to
> kayak building. It seems about as soft as WRC, more flexy,
> compression in one direction is better and worse in the other, which
> to me just means it may actually be more soft than WRC, and shearwise
> they're equal.
I looked at that web site and then put the numbers through a spreadsheet
I put together during the wood vs PVC debate a while back. Basswood
has the highest stiffness to weight ratio of any material I've crunched
(though the list is small - 13 metals, woods and plastics). It shows
less impact resistance than WRC, so I wouldn't consider it for ribs
(ash, oak or something like that for me), but as gunnels or deck beams
it might be fine.
For weight, you could use a finer cross section with Basswood than with
WRC for the same stiffness, but you'd be pushing it on strength. That
would suggest deck beams.
My main objection would be on the rot resistance. I wouldn't want to
build a kayak with indestructable ribs, long-life gunnels and quick-
biodegrading deck beams.
Mike
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