Newbie Questions

I am starting to gather materials for a 16' Double Ender from 'THE' Book (Roger Fletcher's) -- and I have several questions up front.. with lots more to come, I am sure.

 

1. What kind of alternative from white oak can be used for Frames and Chines?

Port Ord Cedar, I know is good... but what about Western Cedar? Or Redwood? Or Spruce? Or CVG Fir?

 

2. Also... the plans for that boat uses a hard 16ft of plywood (as many do, I am sure), so the question is, what do I do when I scarf two 4X8 pieces together and end up 2 inches short?

Squeeze the frames together a little?

 

Thanks in advance.... Steve

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on August 9, 2011 at 9:17am

In my opinion frames should be made from a light, strong wood like the Port Orford Cedar you mentioned. The White Oak is tough and dense so you want to find another durable wood like that to use. Ash is very popular. In many locations or areas it is not possible to find long pieces of White Oak, never fear, your scarf joint is near. Do a quick search here on Wooden Boat People and you will find more about scarfing, length of scarfs, methods to cut scarfs, glues to use etc. than you ever knew existed. There are lots of opinions but many reflect the same concepts.

You can move the last frame around if needed to make the end come together. That may be the one of the easiest to do. More opinions will follow.

 

Rick

 

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by mlwebb on August 9, 2011 at 10:30am

Frames - Sitka Spruce, Port Orford Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Hemlock, Doug Fir, denser Western red cedar (a lot of it today is rather soft, with wide growth rings, as is redwood)

Gunwale and Chines - Fir

Your second question has been answered in detail, do a search (lots of great info here in past posts, I think I read almost all of them before starting my boat).

Michael

Permalink Reply by Seamus Walsh on August 11, 2011 at 8:08am

I just built that boat.  A 16' side does not fit, you need more.  Or I guess you could make the boat shorter by moving the transom forward.  I agree with the material advice for the frames.  Although I would stay away from the western red cedar (too soft), don't think I would use the redwood either as it can move in a lengthwise direction.  The chines and gunwhale/inwhale should be durable I would chose out of the following---Blk locust, white oak, ash, hickory, cherry, bay laurel, eucalyptus, AYC, POC, fir (watch out for splinters),  hemlock, eastern white pine, sitka spruce, purple heart, yellow heart, (there are many tropical woods you could use although some tend to break when you bend them and don't steam very well because they are short grained and dense.)  elm.   My top choice would be the black locust.   Good luck

 

You may try easycreeklumber.com  located outside of Eugene OR.  He is a great source for boat quality softwood. 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Stephen Markley on August 11, 2011 at 8:51am

Thanks for the wood suggestions. 

Now I am concerned about the side length for the double ender... what did you end up doing?

Permalink Reply by John Greenleaf on August 11, 2011 at 9:10am
I also did the same boat - often you can get 4x10 sheets of plywood in addition to the standard 4 x8. I scarfed a 4x8 to a 4x10 to get the extra length. I also used khaya mahogany (and some honduran mahogany) for my frames and rails. Beautiful, dense, rot-resistant and workable. But also fairly expensive (especially depending where you are) also pretty difficult to bend / can't steam (but totally doable). John G.

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