Nova Scotia Oak

[MARK@NOVASCOTIA]

Hey guys, wondering if any of the local guys might have some knowledge of the oak that grows locally(Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia) for boat construction. Greg Rossel mentions in his book that white oak is good but red is not so good, just not sure what variety grows here,seems to be lots of it around.Steve? MMD? REDDOG?

Mark.

[Donn]

I think I remember that Bluenose was built with Nova Scotia Oak, no?

[Torna]

Red Oak = open veins (tyloses) = rot prone = not good for marine

White Oak = plugged veins = rot resistant = good for marine.

This season they're easy to tell apart by the leaves.
Red Oak has sharply pointed lobes: Red Oak (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=38)
and White Oak has rounded lobes: White Oak (http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=35)

If you're at the lumberyard/sawmill it may be hard to make a positive ID for White Oak, but you can rule out the abundance of Red Oak by looking at a clean cut of end grain: If you can see the open veins heading deep within the log/board you don't want it. From WoodWeb Distinguishing Red Oak from White Oak (http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Distinguishing_White_Oak_from_Red.html)

-leif

[mmd]

Both red & white oak grow here in NS. Whate oak of commercial size is a bit rare, but not unobtainable. Our sponsors recently ran an article on differentiating between th two species by sight.

I believe that Scotia Trawlers in Lunenburg is selling off its stock of white oak. A call to their offices might be in order if you are looking for lumber.

Edit to add: A friend in Lunenburg has about 3000 board feet of nice angelique for sale. Clear, various thicknesses & widths, and lo-o-ong lengths. Contact me offline if you want to contact him.

[ 06-22-2005, 12:18 PM: Message edited by: mmd ]

[Donn]

According to this PDF file (http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/forestry/inventory/reports/rpdraft6a.pdf) , which is a forest inventory of Nova Scotia, the Oak you are seeing is probably Red Oak. It's the 7th most common hardwood species, and the only Oak on the list.