Ramona, Cisco, anyone else??
Can you tell me what timber would be appropriate to replace the gunwale strips on my old girl??
Thanks
Trace
Hi Badinfluence
Typical, ask a male when a female is in trouble, ok, what type of timber is your gunwale currently made of...? I think it would be teak however I am a mare male and probably wrong. what would you like it to be made of and if we tell you and your not happy with our recommendation will it come back and bite us on the ares.
I think I may leave this one to Cisco or Ramona, I am down to my last life...?
I possibly qualify as "anyone else" in which case spotted gum is an excellent boat building timber and will the job you require quite admirably.
You could use Western Red Cedar, Oregon (Douglas Fir), Hoop Pine. I have teak on mine and it looks and is great up to how much you wish to spend.
I guess it depends on the situation. Are you replacing the whole lot or inserting a section? If it is the latter then you would want to match the existing timber if possible particularly if it is a varnish job.
The traditionalists would argue for teak or possible western red cedar and if the plan is to varnish it (and thereby enslave yourself to regular sanding and revarnishing) then my 2 cents worth would vote for these. If the plan is to paint it then I guess the look of the timber is less important and you could go with even something like treated pine as has been suggested. There would also be the other options of different hardwoods such as a mahogony.
Thanks all for your help
it's to replace the whole length and will be painted...I'm no traditionalist
So...looks like it's treated pine ....painted! Too easy!!! Thanks everyone!
And to you Disralei!!!!! Clearly fuelled up on copious quantities of red vino last night...I always know the signs hehehe!!!
Where was my "welcome back, where have you been???" Hhhhmmmppppphhhh
I have jarrah gunwales and I oil it 2 coats once a year with feast Watson outdoor furnture oil jarrah colour.
Mine are Jarrah too, but they're not oiled, nor varnished, they're that lovely untreated silver grey color.......
Michael
Well if something is worth doing...
then it's worth doing it right huh?
Tried tested and true.......... Teak
Sand Witch
So, that would be your treat, big sis? I expect two x 10m lengths of the highest quality teak sourced and paid for by the time I return hehehe
Seriously though....factoring in budget and the myriad other jobs on the list...it shall be painted treated pine.
Thanks all for the suggestions
Badinfluence
I must object, treated pine is not the way to go (bugger the price) for a start it is a softwood, will blemish quite easily, if you had an understanding of cell structure between a hardwood to softwood and had derived from a similar gene pool as I and had been blessed with the brilliance that I do, (builder for 30 years) there is nothing to consider other than a hard wood and I think teak would be your best choice in cost and longevity.
Do I sound like a man that has had to much vino, I must object strongly...?
+one for a straight grain hard wood . Even Vic ash would do and not be much more expensive than treated pine .
I am certainly no expert on timber or timber yachts.
Maybe you could use "Poor Man's Teak", ie meranti. I believe it is a rain forest timber and if you sort through the stock where you buy it and pick out the reddest or darkest pieces you will have a very attractive and easy to work material.
I used it for my skirting boards and architraves in my house and it looks fantastic with a couple of coats of varnish.
Economical to buy but not as cheap as pine.
Tassie oak is also good but I believe fairly expensive and hard to get.
Getting 10 m lengths of any timber is a challenge these days.
Buying even oregon in a local timber yard is getting difficult. Mate had to go to Sydney to a specialist to get some to splice into a mast. Some meranti is still available but its Malaysian and a bit soft. Nothing wrong with soft wood, my old fishing boat is 67 years old, oregon planks on spotted gum frames. Oregon is all original, spotted gum has been replaced in some areas. Chinese fir has been used in junks for ever, you can actually buy this in Bunnings under its other names.
Treated pine is about the only timber used for wharf piles now, see the odd bit of turpentine about.
From Tracy's photos I doubt whether the gunwales are teak, no one paints teak.
Besides being as boring as bat crap, teak also is very oily making it difficult to glue and very high silica content really tests your tools edge holding ability. there are several places in Australia where AAA grade clear Oregon can bought from, but have your credit card at the ready.
Someone had mentioned Mountain Ash, a timber i had forgotten about ... but yes, go for it. Has all the pluses going for it, bends well, glues great, exceptionally fine finishes can be had and will basically last forever.
Harry
oh good lord, all this information is enough to make a girl just run away to sea...and so she shall...tonight in fact. helping my good mate Al deliver his...wait for it...mono...to Hamo for race week. Be back on the 14th to address the gunwale problem.
Once again, thanks so much for all your input on this one. Will contemplate it whilst savouring my time out there
Trace x
Nice weather for a Hamo trip Trace. Take plenty of diesel and enjoy the MONO experience
