Wood -Apitong

[flyon]

:confused: There is a large quantity of Malaysian Apitong available a lumber yard near here 1 1/8 X 6 with a ship lap cut into the edge for $ 2.15 a running foot. It is clear straight and about the color of mahogany. It is sold as truck floor decking. I am considering it for a transom. I tried staining a small piece and it looks an awful lot like stained mahogany. Has any one used apitong on there boats?

[Bob Smalser]

No, but the book says it's used for boat frames.

Strong, hard and heavy...45-50pcf.

Moderately coarse with straight or shallowly interlocked grain. Only moderately durable...should be treated with preservatives. Saws and machines will but high resin and silica content...hard on tools.

[RGM]

Hi flyon,Apitong is great stuff. However, in the marine world it is best used as "wear deck" on commercial vessel's. How tough is it? It's the preferred decking material (along with diamond plate steel)for wear decks on North Pacific King Crab boats. It holds up pretty well to bouncing and dragging 700+ lb King Crab pots (traps on the East coast). I've laid miles of it. It doesn't glue well, doesn't bend well, dulls/ruins tools in a heartbeat, exudes pitch, the dust will raise hell with your sinuses and slivers from it will fester and become infected right in front of your eyes. In short, I think you should use a wood that is more suitable for building a transom. Save the Apitong for wear deck or sometimes for structural members. Good luck

[flyon]

Thanks

I'll bit the bullet and pay for the mahogany

Fred :D

[ 10-19-2003, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: flyon ]