White Oak for planking?

[David W.]

Hello all. This is my first time posting on this most informative forum. I'm a fairly competent furniture maker, but a 14-foot sailing sharpie will be my first foray into boats. I found the plans for the sailer from an old manual from the 1930s. The plans call for the sides (don't know if they are technically called planks since there is only one on each side for the length of the boat) to be made of clear white pine 1"x14"x16'. That's a problem for me in that I don't have clear white pine easily available to me. However, I do have about 200 board feet of rough sawn, air dried clear white oak. Is this a good material for planking a small sailing sharpie? I know it will be heavy, but could I make the planks thinner (plans call for 1" pine) and allow the extra strength to offset the thinner board? Any insight will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

David

[mmd]

Yes, you can, but you will make people who covet white oak for building backbone structures and steam-bending frames cry. Maybe an even trade for pine or Douglas fir, with the other guy paying for freight both ways, will make two people happy with their deal.

[L.W. Baxter]

A fellow asked a nearly identical question a couple months ago, and got some good responses you might take into consideration:

Discussion of white oak for planking (http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=010711)

As for your wide board of pine... it is possible to edge-join narrower boards with epoxy to create a wide clear board.

--Lee

[Paulyboy]

How many of us furniture makers are laughung at the suggestion of an even trade of pine for white oak?
let's trade beer for whiskey, or wine for champagne. How bout Burger King for Applebee's steaks. Yikes!!!!!

[L.W. Baxter]

Where I pay retail for lumber (when I can afford it), planking quality softwoods-- douglas fir and spruce, in these parts-- are more expensive than white oak, board-foot wise. Emphasis on "planking quality".

[mmd]

Paulyboy, as evidenced by Mr. Baxter's reply, one man's trash is another's treasure.

When my brother and I were in the business of building aerial CATV systems, we used to get galvanized steel wire from south-east Asia on disposable reels made of mahogany with teak slat cores. We burnt them when empty. :eek:

[John Hastie]

Whoa -

Forget the white oak planking. Use it for framing, not planking.

Why, you may ask. Well, my preference is for mahogany planking, due to its rot resistance. I have had a 16' wooden sailboat for 30 years and white oak rots. Look for an alternative to white oak planking if you are going to carvel plank.

[ 02-03-2005, 09:34 AM: Message edited by: John Hastie ]

[rbgarr]

An experienced wood boat surveyor once showed me something surprising about mahogany ("phillipine" variety, really a cedar IIRC).

He had a collection of footlong 1" by 1" sticks of different ages. Once the stock reached about 30 years old he could snap it in his hands easily and cleanly perpendicular to the grain. Not something I would imagine happening.

[David W.]

Thank you everyone for the information. Thank you Baxter for the link to the other discussion on oak planking. I guess I did not search well enough. I think I may have to rethink my strategy on wood variety. But I will still use the oak as framing material. Thanks all.

David

[Don Z.]

While I'll admit there may be other, "better" woods to plank with, these guys seem to have done OK...
http://www.intandem.com/NewPrideSite/Pride2/P2Graphics/P2HomeImage.gif

[Tristan]

At the risk of talking dirty, I'd scarf up some marine plywood (fir) "planks," plank the bottom with the same, encase the oustide and inside bottom (at least) in epoxy and glass (or polypropylene cloth). I'd have a boat that LOOKs traditional, a boat that never leaks, never rots (with occasional attention to breaks in the glass casing), that requires minimal care, and that is NOT built like a traditional sharpie was built 90 years ago. Lowell P. Thomas PS, Oh, then I'd sell that white oak and retire on the proceeds. As for Philippine "mahogany," it wouldn't be the best choice. If you've got the money fir or honduras mahogany would be nice.

[ 02-04-2005, 07:47 AM: Message edited by: Tristan ]

[StevenBauer]

I saw a beautiful traditional scandinavian boat at the WoodenBoat Show in Rockland that was planked with oak. I don't see why your plan wouldn't work. I'll try to find a picture.
Here we go:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/pd883185fbd65c3a3636a654c6a91193d/fd891a9d.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/p87f485313f5a61a33ca0751907b302ce/fd8905bb.jpg

Does anyone else remember this boat from the 2002 show?

Steven

[Tristan]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by StevenBauer:
[QB]I saw a beautiful traditional scandinavian boat at the WoodenBoat Show in Rockland that was planked with oak. I don't see why your plan wouldn't work. I'll try to find a picture.
Here we go:

A really lovely boat! A snippa? I wonder if that's an old Skandia hot head engine under the box, probably not. I helped a friend work on a snippa on the Swedish west coast many years ago. Can't remember what she was planked with. They build a pram-like boat called an Eka which was originally planked with oak (hence the name Eka, which means Oak in Swedish). Lowell P. Thomas

[L.W. Baxter]

Originally posted by David W.:
I guess I did not search well enough. Don't sweat it. I may hold a minority opinion, but I think new conversations are the essence of this forum, even if the questions are "redundant". If you had found the topic on your own, and then not posted your query, we would have missed a couple good perspectives on it, eh? Or the opportunity to B.S. a little about boatbuilding, in a friendly way. Plus, we wouldn't know who you are, would we?

Welcome to the forum, David W..

--Lee

[Mhija]

Thanks for the pictures Steven. I remember
seeing this lovely little boat at the 2002 show
along with many other fine craft from a pair of Portugese whaleboats in bright paint colors to a pair of A cats that were all spit & polish.