Thread: boat building wood

Hi Brendon17, if Windsor is not to far for you, check out Trend Timbers Trend Timbers » Front Page. I bought some nice 250 x 25 mm Hoop Pine that machined up nicely for the Auk.
Ian L

Brendon,

Not sure about timber supplies in your area (I'm in north Brisbane), however Mahogany is a fairly heavy dense timber, I do not think it is that readily available in AUS.

I would look at blue gum as an alternative , if you need the red colouration, if colour is not an issue, flood river gum would be the way to go

also have you considered recycled hardwood flooring or for that matter new hardwood flooring timber ?? It may be a viable alternative for you,.

I have built a couple of boats and have used HOOP PINE for frames and bulkhead framing and stringers , with great success.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

Please remember that GLEN L designs are Americian and some are over 30 years old, this means that you may have to substuite some modern materials and methods to achieve your goal.

J

Originally Posted by brendon17

hi just about to start my next boat build a glen l tnt and need to know where to get mahogany or and alternative boat building wood its fore the frames i only need a 13 foot by 1foot by 1 inch thick board by the way im in lake macquarie nsw aus and what the rought price for that size board

Hi Brendon

I'm not familiar with the type of boat your planning to build but from the amount of timber you need it will not be a big one. The experts in the form maintain that the lighter the boat the faster it goes and the easier it is to launch/handle. I can supply Paulownia which is ideal for boat building including the frames. If you PM me or send a phone number I'll elaborate on the timber.

A plank the size you specified would cost less than $75.00 and weigh just a little over 8 kg.

Whitewood

NSW Forests have a booklet which sets out the native timbers which can be used successfully for boatbuilding, with suggestions for their use (eg frames. Spars, planking, foils, etc).
I can supply a PDF for private use if you PM me with your email address


Screwing up in new ways every day

Look for Fijian Mahogany. It's plantation mahogany, the same species as the Central and South American stuff Swientia macrophylla. I think you'll find that the American stuff is now protected under CITES laws and can no longer be exported. The Fijian stuff is not as nicely coloured as the American (probably due to growing in different soil), but is the same stuff as the Fijian Mahogany boat building plywood (BS1088) available here, so you'd get a good colour match, if that's important. It's a lot lighter in weight than most eucalypts.

Some other timbers you might like to consider are spotted gum and lemon scented gum, if weight is not an issue. If weight is an issue you might look at celery top pine from Tas (still available, just). I think that celery top is somewhat stronger than hoop pine, celery top has even been used as deck timber (hoop pine wouldn't pass muster as a deck timber).Oz white beech might be another option, not sure if it steam bends as well as spotted gum or blue gum, by the way Tassie blue gum is supposed to be the best of the blue gums for boat building.

would meranti be a good choose for the frames ? I was quoted $130 for a 4 meter length by 30mm by 240 wide from marshalls timbers here in lake macquarie nsw they sell all types of hard wood tassie oak i think they said it would be $270 for the same amount.

Originally Posted by brendon17

would meranti be a good choose for the frames ? I was quoted $130 for a 4 meter length by 30mm by 240 wide from marshalls timbers here in lake macquarie nsw they sell all types of hard wood tassie oak i think they said it would be $270 for the same amount.

I couldn't resist the challenge. I could supply the same amount of timber (8 metres of 32 x 150 mm weight 10.5 kg.) for $92.87plus P & H 16.50 and freight to your door $38.43 = $147.81.
Only posted because I always thought Paulownia was an expensive timber. Maybe I have been wrong.

Whitewood