: Same as most beam designs, the grain if I read what you're saying
: needs to be horizontal, wood beam failures are usually in
: compression.

: Also if the grain were oriented the opposite direction the beam
: wouldn't be stable will tend to tilt to one side or the other as
: forces are increased which will cause an early failure.

: Bill H.

I haven't built one but that would be correct for a stripper canoe, I understand. But if you really need to maximize stiffness in the vertical direction or extra flexibility for a sharp horizontal bend, wouldn’t vertical grain do that? If it’s part of the finished product rather than a mold, there may also be an appearance issue.