Tom and Rehd,

I happened upon information on Long Leaf Pine in Nick Schades good book: THE STRIP BUILT SEA KAYAK. In the TOOLS AND MATERIALS chapter on page 37 there is a table of over a dozen different type woods suitable for kayak building. The table is called: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WOODS TYPICALLY USED IN STRIP BUILDING[1]. Under the "Modulus of Rupture"Long Leaf Pine comes in with a whopping 14,500 psi!! Conversely, Northern White Cedar trails the bunch at just 6,500 PSI. Keep in mind, this table info says nothing about the ultimate strength these woods would have once encapsulated with glass and epoxy.

It should be mentioned all other tests of strength, compression etc., etc., show Long Leaf Pine leading the bunch. Apparently tho, Long Leaf Pine, indeed the whole Pine family, is not quite as user friendly for the curves and such that Strip Building can demand of a wood. Sais Schade: "Being denser than cedar oe redwood, it isnt the best wood for our purposes, but it still works well". That said, I was intending to use it strictly on the hull, or atleast the lower 2/3rds. Above that I was intending a lesser density pine like Sugar, even a Cedar. At anyrate, I intend to do the funkiest design job in paint on the deck, and a little on the sides, so the actual wood in those areas wouldnt be of priority as to actual appearance. Merelly, the "canvas" so to speak for which to apply the paint.

My fear is Im going to get whatever pine happens to be laying around the lumber yard and the go who runs the place [with an IQ like a houseplant] will tell me its whatever pine Im looking for. My original intent was a kayak out of Phillipine Mahogany or Cherry. The cumulitive costs of those gem woods tho makes Pine a lot more realistic. If nothing else, the paint job on the deck will be just as dazzeling... perhaps even more so.

Pete PS: Working in strips is a totally new concept to me, as Ive paddled until now, a rotomolded kayak and a totally useless inflatable.