: Hello,

: I am about to build a Guillemot Night Heron and Micro Bootlegger, and would
: like to know if New Guinea Rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus) would be a
: suitable timber. I have 3 200mm x 50mm x 5500mm boards, so I am hoping the
: answer is yes. My main concern is weight, as the Rosewood is 40 lb/cu ft,
: vs WRC at around 23 lb/cu ft. I could slim down the strips but I'm not
: sure that this would be enough, I was thinking 1/8 thick may be OK? Any
: suggestions?

If Jelutong is available in New Guinea it might be a good wood to build a kayak out of. We used to get it here in the US from Maylaysia to replace White Pine for pattern making. It is very light, doesn't have any rings you can see and works really nice. When you sand it the saw dust is like face powder. It is softer the pine but I always thought it would make a really light weight kayak.

John