I agree with the problems with epoxy bonding with ash. I have made deck line padeyes several times with ash. And each time they have been nothing but trouble. The first time I thought it was just a bad epoxy job that had blush, but later experience suggests it is just the ash. They pop off when left in the sun. While teak, which is supposed to be hard to glue, has lasted in the same application with no failures for much longer.

I have also used ash for coaming lips and outer stems and have yet to have any problems with these. But I usually fiberglass over these.

: Some woods take epoxy better than others, depending on how well it soaks into
: the raw wood. Cedar absorbs epoxy very well; ash does not. I have had ash
: joints fail using epoxy due to the inherent hardness of the wood and its
: reluctance to absorb epoxy. The open pores in the grain, which can be
: relatively quite large, are apparently insufficient for optimum joinery
: because
: they are few and scattered. When using epoxy as a glue for hardwoods, it is
: best to rough up the gluing surface with some coarse sandpaper to open as
: many pores as possible."

: Hope this helps. - John