16' ash or white oak

[ampersat]

i'm starting to think about replacing the rails on my driftboat. currently, i've got ash rails and that's what the maker recommends using, but others have gotten away with white oak. he told me i could get 16' lengths from edensaw in seattle, but i'd prefer not to have to drive that far. i can scarf joint two pieces together to make the new rails, but that's a long second place to getting one-piece rails. anyone know where i can find this in the portland area?

also, the opinion seems to be that ash isn't very rot resistant. for a drift boat in the northwest that doesn't have a cozy garage to spend its off-time in, rot is definitely an issue. i'm still working out the boat cover problem, too. so, any opinions on the best wood to use would definitely be appreciated.

[ 03-28-2003, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: ampersat ]

[Bait O' Eggs]

Have you tried crosscut hardwoods down on front ave in NW Portland ??? they got a little of everything in there. They have some boat builders in there also

Either Spruce or Magongany would also work for you

[Hoosier Daddy]

Ampersat, what I have read indicates ash isn't too rot resistant, but that shouldn't matter for rails. I'd try the oak. You could go with the stuff that BOE said too. Spruce is darned hard stuff. I got some good deals on offcuts at Hardwood Industries in Tualatin. It was ripped lengthwise, some of it is african hardwoods that would hold up well and look cool. Might be worth a shot. Crosscut is OK, kinda spendy though. I got about 30 linear feet of offcuts at HI for about 6 bucks for a bow project. About half of that was matching wood. Still good deal if you hit it right.

[CHUMSALMON]

amp.,
if you can't find the oak in the 16' length i wouldn't be afraid at all of scarfing them together. also, you can cover the rails in a coat of epoxy (or a couple) and either paint or varnish them and you don't have to worry about the rot. Hope this helps.
chumsalmon

[salmonking]

Originally posted by CHUMSALMON:
amp.,
if you can't find the oak in the 16' length i wouldn't be afraid at all of scarfing them together. also, you can cover the rails in a coat of epoxy (or a couple) and either paint or varnish them and you don't have to worry about the rot. Hope this helps.
chumsalmon <font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Hey Chum,
Like to talk to you. Email me at greerd@aol.com
Thanks

[edsr]

Ampersat - There are a couple of options if you are considering White Oak.

Crosscut does carry it but perhaps not in the lengths you might need.

I would also check with Hardwood Components, a sawmill in Mehama, Or. tele.# 541-859-2144. They had a large assortment a few years ago.

I have had good luck splicing together lengths of oak to make sheer rails, some lenghts to 25'. Most boat builders recommend Resorcinal glue, I have also used epoxy without any failures. If you only have two to make it should not be that hard. A table saw with a sharp blade, a few clamps, a power hand plane, and a hand plne to finish are the main tools. A bandsoar helps if you have a lot of curve in the pieces.

Be sure you do indeed get White Oak, the red variety although stout is not rot resistant.

Let me know if you need help

edsr

[drhall99]

ampersat,

Why not Teak? Expensive, but lasts for a very long time.

D.

[coho slayer]

try brazillian cherry. it comes in just about every size you can imagine. this stuff is completely rot resistant and a brilliant red/brown color.if you have to stay with dull color, there aren't any choices for rot resistance.maybe penetrating epoxy before you install it. :wink:

[Nail Knot]

I obtained mahogany from Woodcrafters some 20 years ago. I have a 17 ft Alumaweld. I refinish with spar varnish every 4 years or so. I made them in one piece, however on my boat you could locate splices behind pole holder bases, is you wanted to. Good luck.

RR

[craigzilla]

Hey Doug- I too need to cross this bridge soon with my DB. I'm looking at the white oak as the solution because it will be rot resistant and look great with my forest green boat.I'll be going for full lengths no splices- that way its forever! I'm going to replace my brass acorn nuts with stainless steel ones and also rap my transom with a stainless steel 4" deep "C" channel turned up the gunnels about six inches. Your boat is blue as I recall and I think the teak would be a nice accent. I have a friend in the Bay Area who wholesales teak- let me know if you want to explore that option. Mahogany would be your "poormans" teak but would also be rot resistant. You gotta check out my $50 homemade cover! Tight as a frogsass. e-mail me! Craig

[CHUMSALMON]

salmonking,
i sent you an email.
chumsalmon

[Hoosier Daddy]

ooh. I like coho slayers idea. I used some B. cherry (aka Jatoba) for making a bow a few years ago. Reasonably priced, hard as heck (way tougher than ash or oak IMO), and PER-TEE. Pretty tough to work though. You'd definitely get some looks though!!

oh, and somewhere I came across an epoxy page that talked about thinning down regular boat epoxy with MEK to create a penetrating epoxy coat if anyone's interested.

[ 03-31-2003, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: Hoosier Daddy ]

[Silver Hilton]

I used oak on the rails of my boat, and they lasted for the eight years I had it, and two years since with no problem. I scarfed two pieces together, using system one epoxy. Just make sure that you coat the end grains with epoxy and let it soak in for five minutes before putting the pieces together so you don't get a glue starved joint. I then used an epoxy/wood flour mix to fill the joint. Worked great.

I kinda liked the scrafing approach, because I liked showing people how nicely the joint came out. I made a jig to cut the angles on the table saw, so the angle was precise, and you could barely see the line.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Found online info on wood specs.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/FPLGTR/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm

some cool info....

[ampersat]

thanks for all the info folks. and the decision is................................................ ..................................
white oak!!!

the reason i call her the ugly eastsider is because although most of her is blue, there's a patch of blue gone where the camo paint shows through. under that is the original white gelcoat (i think). when i go to do the rails, i'm going to redo the paint, inside and out. i'm even considering adding another layer or two of fiberglass to the bottom to cut down on the trampolining (it really does bounce). about once a trip someone almost takes a header out of the boat because of the floor.

i'll post pics once i get the project going.