Wood for a boat?

[WoodPecker]

My father in law has a fibre glass lake boat, the seats need to be replaced. I think the originals were teak or mahogany. I was talking to someone in the know and he was saying that boat manufacturers over here are starting to use ash a lot, as it's good for exterior use. Can anyone suggest any other native wood which would suit this purpose?

 

[Adam]

Oak? I didn't think ash had very good outdoor properties. Still, boatbuilders would know no doubt.

Adam

 

[wizer]

I believe Elm is used quite a bit

 

[CHJ]

I believe Elm is used quite a bit

Remember Elm has peculiar "Water properties"

It will stay sound if continually submerged (used for Lock gate Sills and boat Keels) but will deteriorate fairly rapidly if regularly soaked then dried as might be experienced in an open boat cockpit well, subject to rain collection. (I.E. not used for lock gates)

 

[martyn2]

I surpose it would depend on the size of the seat,but probley a more secure and cheaper way of doing it, is to use a high Quality marine ply with a nice edgeing and then a good varnish finish. But teak or mahogany or Iroko(not to sure if thats right) is used on my boat but just for edgeing

martyn

 

[Colin C]

teak would be one of your best bets ( Iroko would be good to, yes you were right martyn2 ).
I will tell you that teak is very exspenive and I mean very :shock: .
Oak is good to , hope it helps

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Be careful with your choice of oak. At least here in the US we have red oak and white oak. These aren't speecies but groups of. Red oak is not a god choice for marine applications while white is.


Teak is hard on edge tools so even if it weren't expensive, I would tend to avoid it. Mahogany would be good. Ash maybe alright. I would give any wood other than teak a good coat of thinned epoxy and then varnish it good.

 

[Nick W]

If you decide to go for Iroko then for goodness sake wear a mask. It wrote me off for a few days last time I used it - so I won't be using it again.

b.t.w. would anyone like some Iroko offcuts? :roll:

 

[judder]

MDF ? :lol:

 

[CHJ]

....snip....b.t.w. would anyone like some Iroko offcuts? :roll:

Not Likely thank you very much. After the last bout of Nettle Rash and who knows what thrown in that I got from it, I even give it a wide berth when seen on the timber racks.

 

[DaveL]

Hi Nick,

Welcome to the forum.

b.t.w. would anyone like some Iroko offcuts? :roll:

I have used Iroko, I made folding chairs, with no side effects. I still have some in the shop, I am thinking of making a table for the patio but will need some more. If you want your offcuts out of your shop I take them as I quite like the look of the timber, how much have you got?

 

[Scrit]

MDF ? :lol:

Surely you mean MR-MDF (the green one), or better yet MDO (which is used a lot in the USA for exterior signs and is very durable).....

Personally I'd go for poplar - doesn't look wonderful, but very light and one of the best strength to weight ratios of any timber. Ash? Ever seen the bodywork on an old Morris Minor Traveller? I rest my case.

Scrit

 

[WoodPecker]

Thanks for the replies, I found out the following for future reference:


Native timbers which are classed as durable for exterior use:

Chestnut
Oak
(Ash is classed as perishable)

Imported timbers which are classed as durable for exterior use:

Brazillian Mahogany
African Utile mahogany (but not sapele or Khaya which are classed as moderately durable)
Iroko
Cedar
American Walnut (but not EU walnut)
American white oak (but not american red oak) Note Dave R mentioned this
I would assume teak is exterior durable as well but there was no mention of it where I got the above info.

 

[Colin C]

teak is not there because no one is using it as it is very very expensive ( I just made a unit for a friend in it but it was veneered with teak caping) :shock:

 

[WoodPecker]

teak is not there because no one is using it as it is very very expensive ( I just made a unit for a friend in it but it was veneered with teak caping)

I got the info from a suppliers site here in Ireland, so that could explain why they don't seem to stock it.

 

[Scrit]

I'm not surprised. Last time I asked it was over £60/cubic foot for decent stuff - then again, so was South American mahogany (reasonable colour not the nasty pale pink stuff palmed off on us these days). Teak was used as a shipbuilding timber as in vessels like the Cutty Sark

From a usage perspective a lot of Iroko is as hard as nails and isn't easy to hand plane, etc. Haven't seen Chestnut offered that much, possibly as it's not really a commercial species these days, although a lot of antique "oak" furniture contains a fair old bit of chestnut ('coz it was cheaper than oak). I think it's a bit too coarse for many things, hence it's former main use in fencing (chestnut pails or paling)

Scrit

 

[Alf]

HMS Trincomalee had Opepe used in lieu of her original Malabar Teak for her restoration, fwiw.

Cheers, Alf

 

[JFC]

Dont use Ash , its not very good on boats . I laid a parquet ash deck on my boat and it looked rubbish after a year and after two i could put my finger through it . Teak is best Iroko my second choise .