: Shawn, you forget.... nobody lives up there. They have to get what they can.
: I agree with Pete, when I saw everyone talking about using spruce on their
: boats, I figured Ya'll was a really Ritzy crowd. Prices down here are at
: least double, IF you can find spruce at all.

: Rehd

In the Northeast our local lumberyards have 2X4's of northern white spruce.

The spruce used for masts may be Sitka spruce which IS very expensive.

Northern white spruce is amost as strong as Sitka.

It is however normally full of knots. If you look through the 2 X 10s and 12s you can find clear sections since these boards are cut from larger trees. I'll buy a 2 X 12 with a 3" to 4" clear section because the wood is cheap and good.

I use nw spruce for paddles and accent stripes on my boats. I have used it and Sitka spruce for decks and hull before but no longer do, because I wish to make my boats as light-weight as possible I now only use cedar.

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com