> Is poplar good for strip building?

If you have some readily available, then the answer is YES. If you have just a small amount, use it for accent strips, hatches, coamings, or the seat(s). It has a nice grain pattern.

If you don't have any, don't go out of your way to buy it. There are lighter woods that are less expensive.

Because of price, and price only, I'd rather use pine, spruce or fir if I wanted a light-colored wood.

A lot of clear poplar boards I see at the store are made up of edge-glued pieces. It might be, umm, ``interesting'' to rip strips from such boards. I'd check the end of any board over a nominal 6 inch width to see if changes in growth-ring alignment showed it was made from two or more pieces.

If you rip strips from such a board the odds are that you will either get a strip that is from two pieces of wood, and has a long glue joint down the middle, or that glue joint will fall in the kerf, and be eaten by the saw blade.

What you do with a strip with a long glue joint in it is your business. I'd use it for mixing resin. (Can't ever have enough stirring sticks)

Poplar is a fast growing tree and an easily renewable resource. You won't get too many complaints from environmentalists over using it.

In the woods a fallen poplar will rot quickly. I'd put it's resistance to decay at about the same as birch or alder. Encapsulate the stuff with epoxy and it should last for many, many years.

As for using thnner strips to save weight, I wouldn't worry too much about the weight of the wood. If you can carry the final boat it is not too heavy. I'd pick the strip thickness based on the length of the boat.

I'd use thicker strips for a longer boat -- regardless of the wood species or the weight of the strips -- simply because I don't trust thinner stuff to support MY weight. The longer the boat, the less I would trust thin materials. No materials science here, just a gut feeling.

George Roberts uses thin wood strips (1/8 inch) and several layers of lightweight glass cloth. I use thicker wood strips (1/4 inch) and a single layer of glass cloth except on the center of the bottom. (That's for scratch protection more than strength). His process works, and mine may be a bit overbuilt. Then again I am, shall we say, a bit overbuilt, too.

Just some opinions here for you.

The important question is not about wood species but about time: How long before you decide to rip that poplar, pine, cedar or whatever into strips and start building? Paul Jacobson