: Beautiful boat!

: I have some red meranti (sold here as mahogany) left over from the
: construction of my porch. It's interesting that you refer to it as a soft
: wood. I naturally assumed it was a hardwood (mostly because it doesn't
: grow in my back yard so I don't know anything about it)

Technically, as a deciduous tree, this mahogany is a hardwood.

But it's probably a lot softer than "softwoods" like Alaskan Yellow Cedar or Fir.

: and was planning
: on using it for my external stems. Do you think it will be hard enough to
: make good stems?

If it feels hard, it's hard. I like to use ash, because it's both hard and resilient. If you think it's hard enough, by all means, use it!! Anything harder than cedar or redwood would make good external stems--they just crush too easily, and would dent right under the glass.

: Also, I never considered using it as a stripping wood - I
: just thought it would be too heavy. Any thoughts on this?

Every board varies.....if you find a light meranti board, it may be lighter than some cedar or pine or spruce boards you've seen...use it! Just because someone says it's a heavy wood shouldn't make you dismiss it outright. If it's bendable and easy to strip, and beautiful, and not unnecessarily heavy, use it!!

Shawn