Subject: Re: [baidarka] Proper species of willow?
From: James Mitchell (baidarka@earthlink.net)
Date: Tue Jul 08 2003 - 15:17:32 EDT
Yellow cedar. Cut it 1/2" wide, 3/16" thick, then boil it for an hour
in a rain gutter. Trim the ends with a knife as you install.
On Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at 09:32 AM, Kcorkey@aol.com wrote:
> I used willow for all the ribs on my boat. The willow that you are
> looking for grows typically in very marshy wetlands just around the
> edges. The leaves look almost the same as the weeping willow. I found
> it impossible to find good willow and keep your feet dry so a good
> pair of rubber boots and small pruning shears are a must.
> A friend of mine has been making willow funiture for years now and she
> helped me to find what I needed. There is a species of dogwood that
> grows in the same area and looks similar, but it's redish. She said
> that it bends wonderfully, but when it dries it becomes very brittle.
> Seem this is the case with quite a few varieties of wood.
> When you're cutting the willow look for long, straight branches that
> don't taper too drastically over the length needed. Also, you'll see
> some spots on some of them that look like knots almost, I've been told
> that these are from catapillars. Sure enough, whenever I've
> encountered one the wood inside is rotted and red and the rib will
> crease there when you try to bend it.
> I had very good luck with mine. I didn't steam the ribs, just cut
> about 20 at a time and soaked them in the pool while I worked. For the
> thicker ribs in the center of the boat and the end ribs where the
> curve is steepest I did poor some boiling water over the bends as I
> went. I suspect that the boiling water actually helped these ribs to
> dry out faster and set the bends quite well.
> In the end, I was very happy with the willow and will use it again.
> The boat is the MA-76 (19'4" long and 17" beam") covered and coated
> came up to 26lbs. Currently I'm working on a new skin with hatches.
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