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Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
By:Ted Henry------WebKitFormBoundaryizgkDj+25Ku9k5c1
Date: 2/5/2009, 12:18 pm
In Response To: Material: Hardwood kayak? (Paul Lueders)

There used to be a builder that contributed quite a bit on this board about his kayaks made with American hardwoods. As I recall he used 1/8 strips which were more narrow so they would require less fairing at joints around the curves. 1/8 inch stock does not leave much leeway for fairing the joints or smoothing out bumps.

Be carefull choosing exotic species of hardwoods. There are good reasons why certain woods have been used for a long time to build boats. Woods need to be easy to saw and sand, take epoxy and glue well, not weigh too much, and maintain their color. Non-porous, dense, and oily wood species can have delamination problems, especially if sanded too smooth.

I have worked with Wenge and and found it hard to work with, very heavy, brittle, and splintered easily. The last would make it challenging to use as narrow strips. Also, in strong sunlight it turns dark gray over time. Padauk has been used on kayaks by a couple friends and in both case the wood has lost its colorful tone over time and turned a very dark brown.

If you want a very dark wood, Peruvian walnut works well. For reddish wood mahogany and Sapelle are both excellent.

Hope this helps,
Ted

Messages In This Thread

Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul Lueders -- 2/4/2009, 2:57 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak? *NM*
Paul Lueders -- 2/9/2009, 12:00 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak? *LINK* *Pic*
Andy Waddington -- 2/9/2009, 11:21 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul Lueders -- 2/9/2009, 12:04 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
wwfloyd -- 2/5/2009, 3:51 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/6/2009, 2:08 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Don Lucas -- 2/6/2009, 10:00 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Glen Smith -- 2/5/2009, 7:44 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Ted Henry------WebKitFormBoundaryizgkDj+25Ku9k5c1 -- 2/5/2009, 12:18 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul Lueders -- 2/5/2009, 8:29 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak? *Pic*
Andy Waddington -- 2/9/2009, 11:37 am
Re:rolling bevel *Pic*
Chris Sperry -- 2/6/2009, 10:04 am
Re:rolling bevel
Etienne Muller -- 2/8/2009, 4:46 pm
Re:rolling bevel
Chris Sperry -- 2/9/2009, 7:20 am
Re:rolling bevel
Andy Waddington -- 2/9/2009, 11:49 am
Re:rolling bevel
Bill Hamm -- 2/9/2009, 1:15 am
Re:rolling bevel *Pic*
John Monroe -- 2/8/2009, 4:25 am
Re:rolling bevel
Roy Morford -- 2/8/2009, 12:28 pm
Re:rolling bevel
John Monroe -- 2/9/2009, 2:43 am
Re:rolling bevel
Chris Sperry -- 2/8/2009, 11:32 pm
Re:rolling bevel
Roy Morford -- 2/9/2009, 12:18 am
Re:rolling bevel
Chris Sperry -- 2/9/2009, 6:43 am
Re:rolling bevel
Roy Morford -- 2/9/2009, 9:57 am
Re:rolling bevel
Chris Sperry -- 2/9/2009, 9:46 pm
Re:rolling bevel
Paul Lueders -- 2/6/2009, 1:30 pm
Re:rolling bevel
Paul Lueders -- 2/6/2009, 3:52 pm
Re:rolling bevel
Bill Hamm -- 2/8/2009, 12:36 am
Re:rolling bevel
Chris Sperry -- 2/6/2009, 3:10 pm
Re:rolling bevel *NM* *Pic*
Chris Sperry -- 2/6/2009, 10:07 am
Re:rolling bevel
Bill Hamm -- 2/6/2009, 1:13 pm
Re:rolling bevel
Chris Sperry -- 2/6/2009, 3:17 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul Lueders -- 2/5/2009, 6:23 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Bill Hamm -- 2/6/2009, 9:57 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul Lueders -- 2/6/2009, 1:21 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/5/2009, 1:19 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak? *LINK*
Sam McFadden -- 2/5/2009, 12:28 pm
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Bill Hamm -- 2/5/2009, 1:55 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Rich K -- 2/5/2009, 12:34 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/5/2009, 12:17 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Brian Nystrom -- 2/5/2009, 7:41 am
Re: Material: Hardwood kayak?
Donovan -- 2/4/2009, 4:14 pm