Gunwale wood?

[memaquay]

1. Is white pine legit/viable as a gunwale wood? I was thinking it was not, but Conk mentions it above and obviously he knows what he's doing. I know it's light, and as easy to find as a gallon of milk.
2. How good is poplar? Is it comparable to spruce in terms of strength/weight? Doug and Conk both mention it. Can one get away with say 5/8x5/8 rails on a 16' boat that won't be abused?

I've used a lot of white pine for strips, but never for gunwales. It can be found easily in long clear boards, but I think it is too soft. Poplar is a surprising wood, light but strong. Keep in mind that it doesn't do well with water, so I would seal all sides of it with epoxy .

I'm sure Maine has tamarack. I've been itching to try that for gunwales too. It is difficult to work with, but would look pretty amazing, and be quite water resistant too.

 

[Alan Gage]

Talking about poplar can be confusing. Poplar is readily available in long clear boards at most lumberyards in most of the US but this is different than the poplar that grows in Mem's backyard. The commercial stuff is yellow poplar and would probably make fine gunwales too. I think @dougd has been using it.

For most of our uses, which are pretty light, I think you could use about anything with success. If running whitewater or other extremes you might need to be more selective.

Alan

Alan

 

[goonstroke]

Thanks. I'm giving poplar a try. I went down to my local Home Despot and browsed the bin of poplar boards, and eventually found an 1x8x9' that looked very good: clear, straight grain, noticeably lighter than average. I was thinking I'd go for at least a 10' so I'd have more choice of where to put the scarfs, but the 10's and 12's all had issues, so 9' it was.

I bought the board and a few odds and ends, and when I was checking out the cashier seemed a bit brusque but I didn't think anything of it. Those boards are priced by the linear foot, and when I looked at my receipt at home I noticed that I'd been charged for 9.25 feet. Odd, I can't say I've ever been charged a non-integer number of feet for a long piece of lumber. Maybe she knew I was taking the only good one.