My daughter build a shearwater hybrid with a paulownia deck and loves it. Her boat was judged best kayak at this years okoumefest. I've see paulownia used foir kayaks in New Zealand and Australia for years and thay all love it.

Leah got her strips from http://www.paulownialumberandsupply.com/ and I got a clear 8' 2 X 4 that I carved a 19 oz greenland paddle from. They can supply you with what you need. SEEYA Jack

Was that the guy who recently proved that spam is made from wood, not pork? He sure was annoying.

Laszlo

I picked up a couple of pieces of paulownia on eBay that I'm planning to cut into strips for a Wood Duck hybrid deck. It is very light weight, almost like balsa, but with a cellular structure more like bamboo, which should give it more strength. The color is similar to Atlantic white cedar, but with a slight greenish tinge and hints of pink running through it. Very strange but interesting. -Wes

I saw the video on YouTube with a guy from AUS who built a surf kayak out of it and I figured it must be strong enough.  I mean, the wood will be encased in fiberglass after all...

I guess the only way to find out for sure is to just jump into it.  And when it breaks, try a better method next time!

If I take on this endeavor, I'll be sure to make notes as I go along.  A buddy of mine suggested 5/8" strips so it will match the density of cedar.

Thoughts on that?

-Rob

Rob P,

Do you mean 5/8" thick strips?

The density of the wood doesn't matter much. All the wood does in our boats is give them shape and color, and separate the layers of fiberglass. Most of the strength and impact resistance is in the layers of epoxy-saturated glass.
-Wes

I never miss a chance to give my uninformed speculations on boat design.

Today's is this.  Take two hulls with identical wood weight, and 'Glas on both sides.   Wouldn't the one with light wood be stiffer than the one with dense wood?  (Simply because the two glass skins, which bear almost all of the stress, would be farther apart.) 

Camper,
You are probably correct, but the increased stiffness isn't needed, so it would be more desirable to take advantage of the lighter weight - especially when lifting your boat to the roof of your car at the end of a long paddle. -Wes

All,

This is fantastic!  Exactly the thoughts that I am looking for!  When I thought about using 1/4" thick strips, I was slightly discouraged by others thoughts about stiffness (hence the 5/8" thick question).  But I recalled reading in another thread that the fiberglass and epoxy is what gives the boat the rigid feel; not the wood.

Very excited for the future in my apartment.  :)

I need to hook up with the CLC guys and paddle both the Night Heron and hybrid to see how I like the hard vs soft chines and that will ultimately win my decision over which boat is built and how the paulownia is used.

I greatly appreciate everybody's thoughts and feel free to contribute if you think of anything else!

-Rob