> I'm planning on building George Dyson's baidarka (an Inuit Kayak).
> Although George uses an aluminum frame, I plan on using wood. I'm
> thinking of red cedar for the frame pieces that run from stem to stern
> and ash for the cross members.
> White oak is also a possibility. Any
> comments on my material selection?

The folding kayak I've been working on called for ash or hickory for the stringers. George Putz`s book on canvas boat building says that cedar works fine. I could not find ash so I used cedar, and an occasional piece of pine. Since I did not think the cedar would be as strong as the ash, I jsut made the pieces thicker and wider. The ash was supposed to be 1/2 inch thick and 1/2 inch wide, but I used 3/4 cedar, and cut the rabbets in the frames a 1/4 inch deeper. Seems to work.

Putz uses 3/8 inch thick stringers, which, by themselves I think are downright flimsy, but he cross braces them in what he calls ``trestle'' work, creating a very strong but light frame. Get his book (Amazon.com has it) and look at how he does it. Aluminum is stiffer and probably doesn't need this kind of bracing.

Are you planning to steam bend the crossmembers? If so, then ash would be fine. otherwise, cedar or pine is fine. So is plywood in many places. A half sheet of hardwood plywood would go a long way. It would look beautiful and not be too expensive. I don't know why you want to play with oak. It is strong, but it is also heavy. I've never had an easy time driving screws into oak. I used red oak for a gunwale on my canoe, and for the decks. You might consider using it for the coaming or for fittings. For trim it is pretty, but you can save your money and use other materials.

I'd give a thought to using oak for a paddle, too. Might be heavy, but it would be strong. You could laminate a strip of oak between two strips of cedar for the handle. That would give you the strength of oak in the center, and the lightweight, easily-worked cedar could be easily shaped and rounded.

Paul Jacobson