Monterey cypress

A friend from the coast came by my boathouse and dropped off a few hundred feet of clear Monterey cypress for me to play with. Not the crooked windblown trees you think of along the coastline, but big, tall, straight inland trees.

Anybody know anything about building with the stuff? Might it be a good boat material?

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Permalink Reply by Roger Fletcher on June 23, 2011 at 7:39pm
Brad - I have not heard of its use here; too many other proven choices. I was thumbing through WoodenBoat's forum today and came across this thread. The species does seem to get attention as boat building material in some parts -- http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?43690-Monterey-cypress
Permalink Reply by Brad Dimock on June 24, 2011 at 11:28pm

Thanks for that thread, Roger. I am surprised at how little I have been able to find about the properties of the wood. It's kinda pretty when oiled. I guess I'll just have to use some in a project and see how it holds up.

Permalink Reply by Brad Dimock on June 25, 2011 at 8:54pm

They seem to know more about it in New Zealand, where it is grown commercially as "Macrocarpa."

Still, not much pertains to boat building...

http://www.cypress-sawmill.co.nz/macrocarpa_specs.htm

http://www.nzwood.co.nz/species/macrocarpa1

 

And conflicting reports on a NZ boat chat site:

  1. Don't go kike, it rots fast. Macrocarpa has a good reputation as a bb timber.
  2. Macrocarpa has to be heartwood or it'll rot as soon as you turn your back.

 

 

 

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