Choice of wood?

[Prime Time]

I'm replacing the gunwale on an old dinghy. I need to bend a 12 foot length of wood. It measures about 1 inch square. I'm considering Mahogany, Ipe or white oak. I would like to pick the wood that will bend the easiest. If I can avoid steam bending, all the better. If I can avoid laminating, even better.

Suggestions?

thanks

 

[Manny]

I have some experience with Ipe, bending it is difficult without assistance. I don't know how it would react to steaming. If it's only a slight bend at 12' long maybe it's possible but I really doubt it. I had a true 1" board at home that I ripped into 3/4" by 1" by 6' and it didn't flex at all.
I've found that white oak will bend a little more than ipe but I don't know about mahogany.
Can you tell us how much bend your talking about? How about a picture?

Manny

 

[sailingdog]

None of those are going to bend well at 1" think. I think you're going to have to laminate up a piece, and may even need to steam bend the pieces, depending on how thick you make them and what wood you pick.

 

[Prime Time]

Image

Not my boat but what she could look like!

 

[Ross]

If you can get sawmill green white oak you may be able to get that bend. But more than likely you will need to steam the piece. I was able to bend a 1x4x16 feet sawmill green white oak to make a rub rail on my 30 foot boat but the bend is only abouy one foot deflection.

 

[Prime Time]

Thanks

I posted this on the woodenboatforum as well. Some one is recommending vertical grain fir.

 

[Ross]

Re: Thanks

Maybe you can find that in New Jersey. Do you have at least a dozen "C" clamps? You will need them and perhaps more. It must be at least wet, definitely not kiln dried.

 

[shorty]

White Oak will bend well but will not weather well, it is prone to checking & if varnish is not perfectly maintained, it'll discolor. I did similar on a Cape Dory 10 (the same as pictured above) in Mahogany, more like 3/4" thick each side. Lots of clamps, screwed & plugged, not glued, dry not steamed, has held up handsomely for 12-15 years. The mast keeper in the bow is a chunk of white oak for strength. Ipe would be very durable but a lot more difficult to work. It will also not varnish particularly well. The Mahogany is quite handsome. Fir would bend in very easily but not as durable.

 

[JustDucky]

Non-traditional method

At the Mystic Seaport we maintain and refurbish a fleet of over 50 Dyer Dow sailing dinghies. These boats are used to teach youngster how to sail and do get banged up quite a lot. We have switched to ripping strips of grey Azek decking for the double rubrails all around and triple rubrail on the bow. No steam bending needed, just keep them warm in the sun and clamp the slowly on the rail. This replaced the steam bent white oak which we used to use.

Like I said in my title "Non-traditional" but they look nice.

 

[Ross]

At the Mystic Seaport we maintain and refurbish a fleet of over 50 Dyer Dow sailing dinghies. These boats are used to teach youngster how to sail and do get banged up quite a lot. We have switched to ripping strips of grey Azek decking for the double rubrails all around and triple rubrail on the bow. No steam bending needed, just keep them warm in the sun and clamp the slowly on the rail. This replaced the steam bent white oak which we used to use.

Like I said in my title "Non-traditional" but they look nice.

This Azek decking? Is this the recycled plastic and sawdust planking that can be had in several colors? Carrying one 16 foot plank is tough because it wants to bend and the ends want to drag the ground. The cut edges aren't pretty but I never have tried to shape or polish them.

 

[zeehag]

mahogany rots in salt and fresh water' white oak lasts longer than mahogany.
red oak rots....ash is a decent wood for boat building , spruce is also..cypress is costly but will outlast you and me...lol...dont know about bending it tho.....

 

[woodster]

mahogany rots in salt and fresh water' white oak lasts longer than mahogany.
red oak rots....ash is a decent wood for boat building , spruce is also..cypress is costly but will outlast you and me...lol...dont know about bending it tho.....

yes ash is a very good one to use.....but i am wondering about the part where you say cypress is costly ...but it does bend very well ...we have lots of cypress here in ga from crate grade to furniture grades as well

regards

woody

 

[jimmcgee]

Check out US Mahogany as a source of wood in your area. You should be able to get any of the above at reasonable prices. Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford PA is even cheaper but would be a long ride for you.

Also nothing says you have to bend a single piece to fit. You can go a bit wider and scribe the curve. Then plane or sand to the final size.

Jim

 

[sailingdog]

Ross—

I don't think that stuff can be made to look "pretty". It does have some serious advantages, especially for a fleet of small racing dinghies... it is almost maintenance free and close to indestructible in this application. It is also probably easier to install and cheaper than real would be.

This Azek decking? Is this the recycled plastic and sawdust planking that can be had in several colors? Carrying one 16 foot plank is tough because it wants to bend and the ends want to drag the ground. The cut edges aren't pretty but I never have tried to shape or polish them.

 

[Prime Time]

Thanks to all

I was considering plastic or composites as an option. I am likely to cover the gunwale with some sort of canvas encapsulated foam to avoid damage to the mother ship anyhow! My main concern is easy of bending. Regarding the comment about mahogany rotting, I did not realize this. It certainly is a commonly used wood on boats. I guess thats why there is so much varnish out there. I did know that certain types of mahogany is less desirable.

Thanks for the US Mahogany tip. I did use them in the past while rebuilding my Mirage and got teak, mahogany and marine ply from them.

I'll post my results.

Thanks again

 

[shorty]

The mahogany rotting I think is one person's experience. Of course, with any wood it depends on how applied & if there's trapped moisture etc. For my 35 years i9n the trade, Mahogany has worked very well. Azek is pure PVC lumber, not resin & sawdust. We fabricate that also

 

[CalebD]

At the Mystic Seaport we maintain and refurbish a fleet of over 50 Dyer Dow sailing dinghies. These boats are used to teach youngster how to sail and do get banged up quite a lot. We have switched to ripping strips of grey Azek decking for the double rubrails all around and triple rubrail on the bow. No steam bending needed, just keep them warm in the sun and clamp the slowly on the rail. This replaced the steam bent white oak which we used to use.

Like I said in my title "Non-traditional" but they look nice.

Pink Papa,
A friend of mine has a 7'9" Dyer Dhow that needs new rub rails and this sounds like a good application for this PVC 'lumber'. Will you give me a more detailed description of the process you use at Mystic Seaport for replacing these rails with Azek?
Photos of the finished product would also be helpful.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Steve Dion]

I would use mahagony. This is one of the woods that they used for water skis. Straight grain and no knots.

If you can get strips that long enough you will not have to join the pieces. Soak the wood in the water for a few hours and then use clamps to hold it in place so you can screw it to the hull.