I have a Lund 16' aluminum boat. It is not an expensive boat, not a teak
and mahogany cruiser.

I am going to redo some of the places on it where I think wood would be very
attractive, the vee at the bow where the trolling motor mounts, the
dashboard, and the long bench seat, which I will make a combination of wood,
and upholstered seats covering some of the wood, but letting some show.

Teak and mahogany are out. I am somewhat limited to what I can get at the
local Borg stores, which brings it down to cedar and redwood.

I plan on routing edges round, doing some decorative routing, staining, and
then some McClosky's or the like. I figure on sanding and sealing yearly,
but if it looks really sharp, it's worth it. It will be parked in the shade
when not in use, but not indoors.

What would you use for a practical marine wood? I'm thinking of using 2x8's
or 2x6's depending on what I need for the finished size, the important thing
being 1 1/2" thick. Which would weather better in a dry hot arid location
of the US? (intersection of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona)

TIA

Steve

In article ,
says...

Steve B wrote:
I have a Lund 16' aluminum boat. It is not an expensive boat, not a
teak and mahogany cruiser.

I am going to redo some of the places on it where I think wood would
be very attractive, the vee at the bow where the trolling motor
mounts, the dashboard, and the long bench seat, which I will make a
combination of wood, and upholstered seats covering some of the wood,
but letting some show.
Teak and mahogany are out. I am somewhat limited to what I can get
at the local Borg stores, which brings it down to cedar and redwood.

I can see teak being out, price has become ridiculous, but why mahogany? If
just because your local DIY center doesn't have it, you can easily get it
online.
______________

I plan on routing edges round, doing some decorative routing,
staining,

Why use a nice wood and then stain it? Additional work too, both initially
and later in maintenance.
_______________

and then some McClosky's or the like. I figure on sanding
and sealing yearly, but if it looks really sharp, it's worth it. It
will be parked in the shade when not in use, but not indoors.

What would you use for a practical marine wood?

Meranti isn't bad. White oak could work too. Plus, of course, the
aforementioned teak and mahogany. Actully, just about any wood will work if
it is cared for.
______________

I'm thinking of
using 2x8's or 2x6's depending on what I need for the finished size,
the important thing being 1 1/2" thick.

You aren't normally going to find hardwoods in nice neat sizes and why in
the world to you need 6/4 for what you are proposing?


White oak is traditional, fairly hard, strong, and any hardwood lumber
yard should have it. The Borg won't--they'll have red oak which isn't
(repeat IS NOT) a good substitute.

If it's _gotta_ be something from the borg and they have cedar, that's
the thing to go with--cedar is traditional.

On Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:10:10 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:

I have a Lund 16' aluminum boat. It is not an expensive boat, not a teak
and mahogany cruiser.

I am going to redo some of the places on it where I think wood would be very
attractive, the vee at the bow where the trolling motor mounts, the
dashboard, and the long bench seat, which I will make a combination of wood,
and upholstered seats covering some of the wood, but letting some show.

Teak and mahogany are out. I am somewhat limited to what I can get at the
local Borg stores, which brings it down to cedar and redwood.

I plan on routing edges round, doing some decorative routing, staining, and
then some McClosky's or the like. I figure on sanding and sealing yearly,
but if it looks really sharp, it's worth it. It will be parked in the shade
when not in use, but not indoors.

What would you use for a practical marine wood? I'm thinking of using 2x8's
or 2x6's depending on what I need for the finished size, the important thing
being 1 1/2" thick. Which would weather better in a dry hot arid location
of the US? (intersection of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona)

TIA

Steve



can you get your hands on some cypress?

skeez

Steve B wrote:
I have a Lund 16' aluminum boat. It is not an expensive boat, not a teak
and mahogany cruiser.

I am going to redo some of the places on it where I think wood would be very
attractive, the vee at the bow where the trolling motor mounts, the
dashboard, and the long bench seat, which I will make a combination of wood,
and upholstered seats covering some of the wood, but letting some show.

Teak and mahogany are out. I am somewhat limited to what I can get at the
local Borg stores, which brings it down to cedar and redwood.

I plan on routing edges round, doing some decorative routing, staining, and
then some McClosky's or the like. I figure on sanding and sealing yearly,
but if it looks really sharp, it's worth it. It will be parked in the shade
when not in use, but not indoors.

What would you use for a practical marine wood? I'm thinking of using 2x8's
or 2x6's depending on what I need for the finished size, the important thing
being 1 1/2" thick. Which would weather better in a dry hot arid location
of the US? (intersection of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona)

TIA

Steve


Bolting wood to Aluminium is a good way to end up with holes in the
aluminium! See 'Poultice Corrosion' on Google or start with this link:
http://www.qualitymarineservices.net/other_corrosion.html Anything
that traps moisture against the metal risks rotting it.

Any time you fasten something to aluminium on a boat, you *must* use an
anti-corrosion jointing compound, the best of them being Duralac.
http://www.intek-uk.com/duralac.htm
Any decent chandler will stock it.

Also make sure you use stainless or heavily galvanized fastenings
(stainless only for salt water use) and dip each one in Duralac.
Ideally you use insulating washers under bolt or screw heads but even
so, use Duralac!

Beware of wood treated with wood preservatives. Some treated woods +
damp will eat a hole through your boat in a week or two! Anything
copper based is likely to cause trouble.
--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL:

Steve B wrote:

Teak and mahogany are out. I am somewhat limited to what I can get at the
local Borg stores, which brings it down to cedar and redwood.

Hi Steve,

I have a book in front of me with the results of some scientific tests
on the durability of timber carried out in Britain. Western red cedar is
classed as "durable" whereas redwood is classed as "non-durable".
Looking quickly at the tables, it would appear that the lifetime of
untreated stakes in the ground is about 5 to 15 years for redwood and 15
to 30 years for cedar. It's unlikely that you'll get the same results
with a different application in a different climate, but my guess is
that the cedar will still be more durable. If you want any more
information from the book, you can reach me at chris AT ruggedmachines
DOT com.

Best wishes,

Chris

In article ,
says...

Steve B wrote:

Teak and mahogany are out. I am somewhat limited to what I can get at the
local Borg stores, which brings it down to cedar and redwood.

Hi Steve,

I have a book in front of me with the results of some scientific tests
on the durability of timber carried out in Britain. Western red cedar is
classed as "durable" whereas redwood is classed as "non-durable".
Looking quickly at the tables, it would appear that the lifetime of
untreated stakes in the ground is about 5 to 15 years for redwood and 15
to 30 years for cedar. It's unlikely that you'll get the same results
with a different application in a different climate, but my guess is
that the cedar will still be more durable. If you want any more
information from the book, you can reach me at chris AT ruggedmachines
DOT com.

Uh, Chris, does it say the _species_ of that "redwood"? It's my
understanding that in the UK "redwood" is Scandinavian pine, not the
giant tree that grows on the West Coast of North America.

J. Clarke wrote:

Uh, Chris, does it say the _species_ of that "redwood"? It's my
understanding that in the UK "redwood" is Scandinavian pine, not the
giant tree that grows on the West Coast of North America.

You're right. I checked the book and the species is Pinus sylvestris,
a.k.a. Scots Pine. My mistake. Sorry about that!

Chris