Plain vs. Quartersawn Yellow Cedar Lumber for Lapstrake

[MatthewDS]

I'm building a riveted lapstrake cradle boat, and I just purchased one last Alaskan Yellow Cedar board to make the sheer. When I got the board ripped down to thickness, I was surprised at how different it looked from the boards I had purchased earlier. Initially, I thought that the board was another species, rather than Alaskan Yellow Cedar, but now I'm thinking that it is just milled differently.

I'm not remotely an expert in these matters, but it appears (See below) that my original board (on left) was quartersawn, and the ones I just cut (three on right) are plain sawn. The original boards have a lovely tight, straight grain, while the new ones are wavy and wide.



My questions: Does my assessment seem correct, and will the grain impact the steaming and bending of the boards?

The planks will be painted, so matching grain isn't an issue.

Cheers,
-Matthew

[Bob Smalser]

Yes, your assement is correct...and no, it'll have zero impact in a cradle boat other than cosmetic.

But if your only remaining strake is the sheer, the contrast can be attractive. Further, many like to stain the sheer strake for even more contrast.

[MatthewDS]

Thank you, that's good to hear. I will consider my options for coatings on the sheer strake.