strip canoe

[tokoroanz]

i am about to start on a strip canoe but i am having trouble finding a reasonable priced timber that will do the job and is available in the central west NSW
i have some silky oak slabs but they tend to have a lot of large knots that will have to be cut out and the strips rejoined ( strip sixe 6mm x 22mm X 6mt ) and i am just not sure it is suitable.
In the states they use white cedar or western red cedar , but all those types of timbers are excessivly priced here. I have considered paulownia or even maple
all the local timbers are too heavy and seem to have the wrong grain ect
i would love to here from any one who has made one before or knows more about timber than I and could make a recommendation ,
i have or can access all the required tools to fell mill and dress all my own timber

[burraboy]

I have seen recycled oregon used to good effect.

[anewhouse]

Silky Oak would make a very heavy canoe. Even Oregon would be much heavier than I would like a canoe to be.

I have built about ten strip built kayaks. The first was a 5.4 metre sea kayak made from WRC, which weighed nearly 18kg. The second was a 6.4 metre double sea kayak of WRC and recycled redwood skirting boards and it weighs about 24 kg. Since then I have built several sea kayaks using mostly Paulownia. The lightest 4.5 metre sea kayak is just over 10kg and the heaviest 5 metre kayak is under 13kg. I also have a 4.5 metre TK1 that is about 8.3kg and a 5.2 metre KT1 that is about 10kg.

Paulownia is about 10% to 20% lighter than WRC, so it saves a significant amount of weight even compared with WRC and would save a huge amount compared with Oregon or Silky Oak.

Paulownia works just as well for strip builds as WRC. It seems to bend, plane and sand about the same.

I have bought all my Paulownia from John White, who also contributes to this forum. I have found his service, advice and product excellent.

Whitewood Paulownia

Don't assume that you need 6 metre strips to build a 6 metre canoe. I generally build my 5 metre kayaks from 3 metre, 2.4 metre and even 1.8 metre strips. I hate handling long strips and find it much easier to use shorter strips.

[whitewood]

Thanks for the plug for Paulownia. I believe it is a very good option but then I would be considered biased.
John

[vk4]

I agree , paulownia, would be best for the canoe, WRC and oregon would both be heaver, and more costly.

[tokoroanz]

looks like paulownia is the goi am hoping to find some around here i can mill myself
does anyone know about the white cedar that we get in nsw?
the one with the yellow cedar berries and all the hairy caterpillars on it
is that a millable timber like the american one?
or is the name the only thing trhey have in common

[anewhouse]

This site suggests that it might be a bit heavy.

Factsheet - Melia azedarach

Near the bottom of the page, it says the density is <600 kg/cubic metre. That makes it similar to the density of Oregon. Paulownia is usually described as around 260 to 290 kg/m3.

I was given a small piece of what I was told was white cedar. I used small pieces contrasting with Australian Red Cedar as a decorative strip on my last kayak. Because I used so little of it, weight was not an issue. I would have guessed that it was about the weight described in that fact sheet.

If it was white cedar, then a canoe or kayak built from that would be almost 50% heavier than one built from Paulownia or WRC. That calculation is based on my observation that about half the wight of a kayak is in the timber and the other half is in the resin and glass.

[damian]

Australian white cedar is great for furniture but too heavy for strip boats. It should also be dearer than equivalent quality paulowina.

Beautiful tree, beautiful timber, I've got a couple of little ones on my land. You could use it for rubbing strips or areas where a bit of density won't hurt.

[tokoroanz]

thanks for the web site a new house
this forum is awesome everyones help and surgestions are appreciated
there is plenty of white cedar out here ( Central west NSW ) if any one needs any just go to the local dump in autumn and there are always millable size branches
all i need now is for some one to dump a paulownia log or a pile of WRC skirting boards that couls be a long wait
what do people think of soft woods such as popolar or kurajongor even radiata pine to build a canoe from?

[vk4]

I have looked at the weights of several timbers ,
1 silver quongdong 495Kg

2 hoop pine 560Kg

3 radiata pine 490Kg

4 meranti 525

5 paulownia 295-300Kg

These are readily available timbers and their weights , Paulownia is the lightest , and I would suggest the best for your needs you can put in a few strips of Meranti for contrast.

Jeff

[labr@]

what do people think of soft woods such as popolar or kurajongor even radiata pine to build a canoe from?

Some poplars are close in density to WRC so if you had some available it might be OK. Radiata Pine is usually knotty and I think unsuitable for this purpose as it would be prone to breaking. I know nothing about kurajong.

If you are going to use glass/epoxy on both sides (the usual thing these days) then marine durability factors are not important and it comes back to density, how well it glues and bends (without breaking) and of course how it looks.

If I lived where you do I would have already ordered Paulownia from Whitewood - shipping should be quite reasonable from there.

[tokoroanz]

whitewood paulownia is an option but unfortunatly some times i am to tight for my own good but i also get a kick out of finding trees localy and milling them
i made a chiansaw mill that makes surpriseingly good slabs and the dressing of the timber just takes a bit of my time which is free

i do plan on fibreglassing the canoe inside and out my current canoe gets a hiding in the river here
it just isnt big enough to put the kids , swags and an esky in hence why i am going to build my own
i have a book by Gil Gilpatrick that is brilliant and has all the plans needed

[vk4]

remember that if you mill your own timber , from a tree that has recently been felled, the timber is Green , and wet.

This is not the best with which to build , to put it mildly, green timber will move and glues and epoxy bonds will at the least be questionable.

Timber generally takes 12months per board INCH of thickness to season properly.
My advice would be to buy the Paulowina.

Jeff

[tokoroanz]

thanks for the advise jeff
i have found some standing dead paulownias how do you think they will go?
they have been dead a few yrs
all i have to do is get the farmer to part with them for the right price ( i like to deal in the beer currency )

[vk4]

If they have been dead for a few years, and there is no rot , you may be ok,.

Jeff