Re: Walnut As Strip Build

Posted by Jim L on Nov 26, 2007

Bob, I had a similar situation when it came to stripping the deck of the Shearwater 17 Hybrid I am building. In my case I had a stack of black walnut available to use. Here's how I assessed the weight issue: based on measurements I made I determined the following Walnut density is 37 lb/ft3 Western red cedar is 26 lb/ft3 For 1/4" strips, I estimate the volume of the SW deck to be ~ 0.3 ft3, giving deck weights of 11.1 lb and 7.8 lb for the walnut and cedar respectively. That's an added 3.3lb and it's high on the boat. I ended up using the walnut only for perimeter strips and the kingplanks. Using a hardwood for stripping may provide opportunity for reducing weight in the fiberglass application, but I don't know if that's practical.

I didn't think about using 3/16" thick strips. That would drop the weight bogey to only about 0.7 lbs. I'm not sure I would want to work with 3/16" strips. Routing the coves and beads would be somewhat harder (do they make 3/16" cove and bead bits?), and may pose other difficulties in assemby. Hope this helps. It sure is tempting to use wood you already have available; especially if it finishes as nice as walnut. Jim L

In Response to: Walnut As Strip Building by Bob Scovill on Nov 25, 2007

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