Oak floorboards in cabin?

[Trecksail]

Does anyone have oak floorboards in their cabin? How sensible does would this be since I already have enough oak flooring laying around? If it was adequately protected? Appreciate thoughts on this.
Thanks, Joe

[Alan Wheeler]

Oak is a good timber to use. It will give the interior a lovely "light" apperance as well. It tends to be very stable in most situations where moisture content can change quickly. It is strong and stands most knocks well. Larger Oak timber used to be used in old english Tall ships as main beams etc. I won't go any deeper here, as there will be others here that would run rings around me with ship building timbers and techneques.
If you are laying it over support timbers and thus exposed underside, I would treat it with evedure or similar that has a fungiscide in it. It will also keep moisture out. Top side, a good Polyurathane coating should do OK. I would be looking at the new Two pot water based stuff out now. it is hard wearing and is safer to use in a confined space, than say a solvant based or moisture cured product is. The two pot stuff is very hard waring and a good protectant.
Hope it goes well.

[rleslie]

"It tends to be very stable in most situations where moisture content can change quickly."

I must respectfully disagree with Alan. Oak is highly unstable when exposed to moisture. The boards will cup if they get wet. The only way to adequately protect the boards would be to completely seal them in epoxy.

Roger

[irwinsailor]

White oak may be OK but red oak rots very fast.

[rleslie]

"The moisture content of wood below the fiber saturation point is a function of both relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding air. Wood will absorb moisture from its environment or lose moisture to its environment until the wood reaches a point of equilibrium. The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is defined as the moisture content at which the wood is neither gaining nor losing moisture; an equilibrium condition has been reached.

Wood in service usually is exposed to both long-term (seasonal) and short-term (daily) changes in the relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding air. Thus, wood virtually always is undergoing at least slight changes in moisture content. These changes usually are gradual, and short-term fluctuations tend to influence only the wood surface." (source - The Wood Flooring Manufacturers Association)


When you use oak flooring in your home, it resides in a controlled environment (HVAC). The problem with using oak on a boat is that it will not be in a controlled environment. It will undergo SEVERE changes in the EMC due to the changes in the relative humidity aboard your boat, in addition to DIRECT CONTACT with water. Wood does NOT shrink or swell equally in all directions, nor does it accept moisture in a uniform manner. Oak is one of the more unstable woods in this regard. It dries very easily and accepts moisture rapidly.

The reason that teak is used in the marine enviro is that it's natural oil content prevents the introduction of moisture back into the wood. When we run teak through our wide belt sander, the natural oils causes the saw dust to stick to the surface of the board and is not carried off by our dust collection system. It also causes a "gum" buid-up on our sanding belts. In contrast, oak produces a very fine dry dust that is easily removed by the dust collection system.

roger

[Jentine]

Oak is an open grained, uneven textured wood. The heartwood of the red oak has a redish tinge and the annual rings are widely spaced. White oak has a smoother texture and the heartwood is tan to brown with a finer textured annual ring. White oak is more stable than red oak since it shrinks and swells less. Both have the same hardness characteristics but white is more durable than red. If the flooring you have is white oak, it is a good wood for your floor.
Red oak is not suitable for boats, but since you have the lumber on hand and the time to fit it to the sole, do it. The worst that could happen is that you will have to do it again later.

Jim Kane

p.s. Do not allow the red oak to get wet. It turns black and has to be bleached to return it to its natural color.

[Trecksail]

Thank you all for the great info.

Joe