Red Oak

[dblue]

Would like to find out about using red oak on boats?
dblue

[Efraim]

Red oak and water aren't a good mix. Due to it's cell structure red oak soaks up water like a sponge. If you do plan on using red oak you might want to limit it's use to interior applications.

[Vasco]

white oak is what you should use.

[Alan Wheeler]

I don't think any Oak would be a good choice on the exterior. But interior finishing would be fine with any type. Ensure it is well seasoned as it can split and warp.

[irwinsailor]

Red Oak is the wrong thing to use for or on a boat!

[GordMay]

Excerpted from:
Guidance on Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance of Wooden Hulls
US Coast Guard NVIC 7-95: uscg.mil/hq/g-m/nvic/7_95/n7-95.htm
NVIC 7-95

CHAPTER 3: MATERIAL

A. SHIPBUILDING WOOD

Wood is an engineering material. Douglas Fir, Southern Yellow Pine (long leaf), and White Oak furnish most of the wood used for boat and shipbuilding in the United States. Of these, Douglas Fir is the predominant choice due to availability and relatively rapid growth.

1. When requirements call for strength, moderate to good decay resistance and ability to hold fastenings well (frames, keels, stems, etc.), the following woods are most commonly used:

Douglas Fir
Southern Yellow Pine (long leaf)
Teak
Western Larch
White Oak

2. Where light wood, which is easy to work and is warp and decay resistant, is required (planking, etc.) the following woods are most commonly used:

Cypress
Mahogany
Cedar (Port Orford, Northern White, Western Red and Alaska)
Tangile (Philippine hardwood)

3. Where light, easily worked and strong woods of moderate to low decay resistance are required, the following woods have found favor:

Sitka Spruce
Western Hemlock
White Pine
Yellow Poplar

There are many other varieties suitable for boat use. These are listed together with their properties in The Encyclopedia of Wood and Wood - A Manual for its use as a Shipbuilding Material (References 1 and 10).

B. BENDING WOODS

Unseasoned White Oak is the choice bending wood ...

[Alan Wheeler]

That Hemlock must be nasty stuff to work with it it? I have seen a piece of it here in NZ. We don't have it grow here like in Europe. Here it gets to be nothing more than a spindly poisonous weed about 5ft tall.
In NZ we have a few timbers of choice for boat construction. Kahikatea or commonly and erroneously called white pine. A very clean and and highly stable timber.
Kauri. Very rare NZ native. These trees were huge ancient giants of our native forest. Apart from a few, the big old ones are all but gone now. Timber is stunning to work with and mostly comes from Fiji. A very poor example of the timber once grown here.
Matai or also commonly and incorrectly called Black Pine. Heavy and hard as hob nails timber. Very strong and hard wearing. Stunning grain and dark redish brown colour.
And one that is tremendously rare to find as a milled timber, but is fantastic for boat biulding is Pohutakawa. Or our NZ native "Christmas tree" as it always flowers at Christmas (well nearly always) with beautiful red delicate flowers.

[stoupidmonkey]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

That Hemlock must be nasty stuff to work with it it? I have seen a piece of it here in NZ. We don't have it grow here like in Europe. Here it gets to be nothing more than a spindly poisonous weed about 5ft tall.

Different plant all together. We can make a nice tea out of hemlock, out here. It is a conifer and can grow well over 30 feet. The other hemlock is poisonous as hell, but not a native plant in the US, I think a close relative is the poison sumac.

[Alan Wheeler]

Arrrh OK. I was shown a piece of it and the guy told me it was bad news stuff to work with. Maybe he didn't actually realise it was something different. I think, but could be wrong, but I think it came in a Piano frame. There was Baltic Pine and a lump of this stuff inside. Would that be right? The guy was a woodworker and had spent several years in Europe, so I just assumed he knew.

[GordMay]

In North America, “Hemlock” is generally understood to mean the “Tsuga” genus of conifer (evergreen) tree, as opposed to the poisonous herb, “Conium maculatum”.

Hemlock Tea comes from the flat needles of this evergreen (no relation to the poisonous brew, made from the parsley-like ground plant, that killed Socrates).

Eastern Hemlock trees can take 250 to 300 years to reach maturity, and can live for 800 years or more. Mature trees reach heights of up to 60 to 70 Feet (18 - 21 m) and diameters of up to 2 to 3 Feet (60 to 90 cm).

The wood is brittle, splinters easily, and is knotty; which lowers its value as lumber. Hemlock is often used for coarse lumber, rough dimension stock, general construction, boxes, crates, railway ties and pulp.

[Alan Wheeler]

Hemlock Tea comes from the flat needles of this evergreen

Mate! you'd want to know your Hemlock from Hemlock then wouldn't you.

[Thermal]

Red oad will turn black, permanently, if it comes in contact with water. White oak is stronger and good for structural applications but will also turn black from contact water so I would not use it for any finish work on a boat.