: Well, if the ribs cracked after you got the keel on (that
: distributes the pressure better) there's definitely something
: wrong with the wood I'd say.

: I usually use pine for my ribs (bends terribly, but it's all I can
: get without a company tax cert), and I space them about 10-12
: inches apart, and I can easily jump on the boat and have never
: had any trouble with the ribs (except a bad bend that cracked
: once, but it should have been changed before skinning tbh).

Agree. Pine is less brittle than cedar, less even than the WRC I am using. Soaking WRC seems to make no difference at all but dampen pine and it softens quickly. I laminated the pine ribs on my current build; a bit time-consuming but they seem to be tougher than an equivalent piece of solid pine . . .