: My last kayak has a coaming steam bent of southern yellow pine...
: maybe not optimum, but ya do what ya gotta do... considering
: your post, I'm definitely gonna try spruce for ribs in the next
: one. I've been using spruce for stem boards, and I am
: re-skinning a year old kayak with spruce stems used hard and put
: up wet, and the stem boards are in great shape, and I don't
: think they ever really dried out in between paddles -- the ends
: were damp when I cut the skin off, and had been sitting on the
: rack for nearly a month. Had no oil or varnish either, just
: plain wood. It's pretty difficult finding the hardwood with
: requisite grain around here, but I can get good grain in spruce
: or pine everywhere. Neither are supposed to be very rot
: resistant woods.

Rot resistance really isn't required, one of the ideal gunwale woods is white pine and it's too not considered rot resistant.

Bill H.