True story.  I was on a walk-about today at the lumber yard and ran into the River God Mahog!

Seriously though, I started the day expecting to pick up some Alaskan Yellow Cedar from the lumber yard, but when I called they no longer had any.  They advised a shipment could be brought from the mill two months from now.  I learned some time ago not to even ask about Port Orford in Boise as they usually think they misheard me or assume I’m foreign(alright I asked and the answer was no).  Well, Spring is here and Summer is coming fast which puts the Cedar out of reach for me.  So after receiving a price quote on some CVG Fir I headed to the yard to haggle about price.  Long story short, they moved on price, but didn’t have what they said they had.

As a result I walked the yard with the salesman trying to brainstorm a solution.  Two plans were hatched and I didn’t have the knowledge to pull the trigger on either which is why I’m here. 

The first idea was to use Hemlock for the frames rather than POC, AYC or Fir.  So has anyone ever used Hemlock?  I understand it is fairly rot resistant, but is clearly heavier than the cedar.  Thoughts?

The second route is African Mahogany.  Apparently the yard ordered quite a bit in 18’ lengths(4/4, 8-10” wide) per a specific order and the customer bailed on half of said order.  The yard offered it to me at the negotiated price of the CVG Fir, $4.60 b/f.  So again, is this a reasonable wood for frames?  I plan to buy some regardless for trim pieces and possibly seats, but what else?  Could it be used for chines or gunwales?  I see the major issues with it being weight and difficulty bending it for a gunwale application.

Frankly, I love the look of dark woods on a boat and if it is a good solution I’ll go this route; however, if the weight, strength or rot factors don’t work I’ll keep looking for a more appropriate material.  Thanks in advance!