no answer , know question.

[David Greenup]

If I had a camera to show you the boat Ive been
building im sure i would have the answer by now.
anyway I posted yesterday regarding how to finish the deck on my dingy(deck for small boat) the info is there no more questions. looking for answers. I know that there are many ways to finish her off Herrshoff called for 3/8" pine with
cloth in white lead but my boat has flotation at the bow (bulkhead)which will make this area inacesable. ply is not an option as im not building a tool box or tv cabinet here.

dave

[Thaddeus J. Van Gilder]

I feel for you...I don't like putting ply in a boat either.

None the less it can be used to make good decks.

personally, I like pine covered in canvas.

I would use cedar if I had a choice however. I haven't used cedar yet, but I got the idea from Bud mc intosh's book, and I can't wait to try it out.

Thad

[David Greenup]

thanks Thad its nice to know that someone is out there. was thinking about cedar but would have to throw more money ($125 canadian) into glass to cover her with as cedar (even old groth) is very soft Did you read my other post regarding glueing the deck down to the beams and gunnels?
I followed herrshoffs layout for the beams I wonder if glue is overkill.

[Thaddeus J. Van Gilder]

???? you don't need to glass the cedar! just lay some heavy canvas duck in white lead (ideal) or rustoleum (what I do) It doesn't wear at all...

[Venchka]

David,

I would kill to be building a boat on Vancouver Island and be able to use Alaska Yellow or Western Red cedar. Damn shame to cover it up though-especially the yellow cedar.

[Rick Tyler]

Venchka,

There are trade-offs. I wanted to build some patio furniture from cypress, but everything I could find locally (Southern California at the time) was cupped, twisted, split, and expensive. I imagine that you do not have this problem in Louisiana.

(Of course, I went on to use clear heart redwood, which cost less than western red cedar at the time. Redwood is practically the only wood that is cheaper in California than the rest of the US.)

- Rick Tyler

[David Greenup]

yea i was leaning to keeping the deck bright. the original plan was to deck her in thin ply or cold mold then finish with 1/8" teak as discused in the goudions book but the ply just wont take the traditional lines on such a small boat without distorting the deck cambers beleive me i tried and i think the weight might have been to high as well

[Venchka]

Is there one place on earth where you can get all the wood you really want for a particular project? I doubt it.

I break out in a cold sweat when I see a boat made out of sinker cypress.

I talked to people all over North America. The wood is out there. Freight to the building site usually equals or exceeds the price of the wood. If I had unlimited time and a good utility trailer, it would have been fun to spend a summer rounding up wood from here and there.

Alas, we aren't helping with the deck question.

***Wait!*** I'm no builder, but if kayaks can be stip built with bead and cove strips and follow a fair amount of camber, why not a deck for a small boat? Didn't you say the deck beams were on 5" centers? That is surely close enough together to support a deck and traffic on it.

[David Greenup]

actualy if its fir cedar hemlock or spruce you would cry to see the cull piles 20 miles north of here i saw 100 boats in one pile but could only get one in my van and this is not 2nd growth only tight grain old growth the wood in my boat cost about 20 bucks for gas to drive and some inovation to make some jigs for getting the most out of the culls. since im sort of going off the path of rightousness building a striper to Herrshoffs lines I think that some canoe cyack light weight technology might work here.
I'm going back to read

dave

[Venchka]

Cry? How about derelict crack houses built of old cypress and long leaf yellow pine torn down and the wood used for a massive bonfire to light the way for Papa Noel?

Sounds like I struck a nerve with the stip deck thought. Why not give Paul Gartside a call? He's very much into a combination of stip and cold molding composite construction these days.

[Mr. Know It All]

Paul Gartside's web site-----> http://www.gartsideboats.com/
hope this helps
Kevin in Ohio