: Hi, my names Alex, im 16 years old, and i just recently have decided to build
: a kayak. I have a book called the Aleutian Kayak, by wolfgang brinck....
: This book is a great help, however i was wondering what type of wood i
: should.... I know that spruce is recommended, but i am having trouble
: finding it? Any suggestions? Also, i was wondering if i could have any
: tips from people who have already built kayaks, about any problems they
: encountered, regardless of whether they were structural or motivational
: issues.
: Any help would be greatly appreciated =) callmecurtis04@hotmail.com

: Thanks!

Hello Alexander

Well, you picked a good book... I've never used that particular one, but most are fairly similar.

There are several woods that folks have used for the frames. I'm using Pine, some use Western Red Cedar, some Alaskan Yellow Cedar and others. I think it's just a matter for most of what they can find locally. The soft woods are good for the bulk of the parts, but it's best to use one of the good bending hardwoods for the ribs. Most use White Oak or Ash and the more moisture in the wood the better. If you can find green ( not kiln-dried ) oak or ash it works better for bending.

It's more important that you find something with long-straight grain and if possible having the growth rings very close together. A lot of the materials sold today are very young, open grained woods ( growth rings far apart ). Try to avoid materials with bigger knots, even if they can be cut around, you will get the wavy grain pattern from them which weakens the wood.

Hope this helps !!

And welcome to the Bulletin Board. You may also try asking your questions on the Greenland Techniques Bulletin Board. That's all about Skin boats exclusively.

http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/GreenlandTechniqueForum_config.pl

You will find everyone on both forums are very helpful towards those just getting interested in building.

Rehd