White pine and fresh water?

[BrianY]

I am building a lapstrake skiff and need to purchase planking stock. I know that Eastern White Pine is a traditional planking wood in New England, that it is not as rot resistant as the cedars, but that it has a reasonable life expectancy when use in salt water. My skiff will live on a trailer and be used 98% of the time in FRESH water. Assuming that I am conscientous about painting and other regular maintenance, will EWP be O.K. for 10 - 15 years? Or is it just going to rot away after a couple of seasons?

The reason I'm considering EWP is that I can get very high quality stock in the lengths I need for less than half the price of any of the cedars.

[brad9798]

If you are diligent with your maintenance schedule ... it's life is indefinite.

Keep her topside dry when out of the water ...

For what you are building, and your intended use, it can be used ...

[Dan McCosh]

It's probably servicable, but around here clear, high-quality white pine is about 4X the cost of white cedar, and considerably higher than red cedar. I guess all wood prices are local.

[Russell Sova]

Been there, done that. Coated with several coats of paint below the water line. Above, used varnish. Rotted in three years.

[WindHawk]

This one is white pine; but they were only intended to survive 10 to 15 years. Twenty years tops, and that's just about what they got. I believe they used virgin white pine for the masts & keel on the restoration of the Dennis Russell in Milwaukee. They had to ask the Native American's for the wood, since 99% of the vigin white pine left in the midwest is owned by the government.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/WindHawk/jsruby_bg.jpg

[Bruce Hooke]

For a trailered boat I'd guess that 90% of the issue is how the boat is stored when it's on the trailer. If you have a way to store it so that it stays dry and has good air circulation around it both inside and outside then you can probably get away with just about anything. I had a pine and plywood punt that I used for a season without even painting it -- the plywood checked but the pine did just fine. The next year I painted it and it has now lasted over 10 years -- but I do not use it that much so it mostly stays hanging up in my garage. When not in use this boat has always been stored indoors, so the wood is never wet for long enough to matter.

If your boat will have to be stored outside with a cover on it then air cirulation under the cover will be limited no matter what you do, so all the paint in the world will not keep water from working into joints and seams and sitting there -- a perfect recipe for rot. If the boat will be stored in a covered space then you could probably leave it totally unpainted and have it last for years.

The following story may help to illuminate the point: I've been told that the worst rot in many old wood & canvas canoes is often under the bow decks. The reason is that when stored in barns and other such places, upside down of course, the space under the bow deck is a perfect spot for birds to nest, and the nests keep these areas damp, which leads to rot. The point is that for most recreational boats, how the boat is stored will have a much bigger impact on the lifespan of the boat than whether it is used in fresh or salt water and similar issues.

One point to keep in mind about white pine -- if it is like most woods then what rot resistance it has will be mostly in the heartwood. Unless you have access to absolutely monstorous white pines it may be hard to find all heartwood boards...

[Jack Heinlen]

When I lived near where Brian lives there was truly spectacular second or third growth EWP available for relatively cheap. 24 inches across the heart, and clear. I assume it's still being sawn; I'm sure it's still there.

If the boat is well maintained I don't see any problem. It's a good choice. AVOID SAPWOOD! Lot's of apocryphal information about old growth v second that is probably true, but if you keep the fresh water out with good maintenance it will work fine, and live as long as you do.

[maa. melee]

Sorry to add a new topic here, but would EWP or EYP work well in salt water or is it the same deal with fresh water too?