Chestnut oak for boat building?

[guillemot]

Does anyone here know anything about chestnut oak ( Quercus prinus )? I wrote to Rich Eberly, whose tree farm is mentioned in the post on "Lumber in Michigan?", and he has A LOT of wood. However, I'm finding that here in Michigan both Quercus prinus and Quercus alba are reffered to commonly as white oak, even in the LL Johnson Lumberyard catalog. Is Q. prinus suitable for boatbuiling? I need lumber for my mast step, centerboard, rudder, false bottom, and other odds and ends above and below the waterline.

I sent Rich these two web sites:
Q. prinus
Q. alba

and he says that he thinks he has both species, but they're mixed up. Some are still logs with the bark on. He's going to try to sort some out, but I don't trust his ability 100%. What do you all think of using Chestnut oak?

Cheers,
Jeff

[ 08-19-2003, 11:04 AM: Message edited by: guillemot ]

[Wayne Jeffers]

Oaks fall into two large families, red and white.

Red oak has pointed lobes on the leaves and the acorns mature in a single season.

White oak has rounded lobes on the leaves and the acorns take two years to mature. (A single white oak tree produces acorns every other year.)

There must be a couple of dozen separate species of the red oak family that are harvested commercially and sold as "red oak" lumber. Their physical properties as lumber are essentially indistinguishable.

There are also a number of separate species of the white oak family that are lumped together as "white oak" for commercial lumber purposes. It may be significant that the pores of chestnut oak often lack the tyloses that make other white oaks impenetrable by liquids. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/FP...tr113/CH01.pdf

Wayne

[Thad]

I have never used Chestnut Oak in boats and would not. As noted it is sold as "white oak", but the pore situation is significant. I have cut lots of it for firewood and never liked the look of it.

[guillemot]

Alright then. Thanks for your input.

Jeff