Bamboo and Your Boat - Can They Be Friends ?

[Thorin]

Working on the plans for my boat, I know where the beer taps and the kegs will be located. And I got "Thinking" that it would be kinda cool to do my lockers, galley, and floors in compressed bamboo and bamboo ply wood.

Does anyone have anything on their boats made of this matterial? How does it wear?

Worse yet this got me wondering if there is a marine "type" of bamboo plywood. Bamboo plywood it harder than oakum but just as flexible in sheets of the same thickness. I need more info about how resistant to delamanation it is. Do you think I could build a hull out of it (that would last)?

That in turn made me think about the mast a laminated sika pine mast can be lighter than a comparable aluminum mast, what if... An engineered laminated bamboo mast? It would be as strong as oak, coming close to maple in hardness. Would that work you think?

Some of these are just brain farts but I haven't found much info about it online yet. I can't believe I am the first person to ponder this what if.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Thorin

Working on the plans for my boat, I know where the beer taps and the kegs will be located. And I got "Thinking" ........

I don't know anything about bamboo. But I have to admire someone who knows the important stuff and plans for them to begin with!

[David M]

Structural or cosmetic?

There is lots of bamboo flooring now since using it is easy on the environment.

Bamboo is an incredibly hard wood but the obvious drawback is that it is not a solid block of wood, its hollow, which cannot be cut and shaped to different forms as easily as solid woods.

One distinct advantage is if you do not split the wood, it is extremely buoyant.

In doing a little online research, bamboo is not very rot resistant, which is one of the important characteristics of a good marine wood.

I found this interesting website about bamboo boats.
http://www.bambooboats.com/

[imagine2frolic]

I was on a Ford family boat as in Ford Blue. It was done in bamboo. It was very light in color adding light to the cabins, and quite pretty.........i2f

[Maddog]

We had bambooo hardwood flooring in the house. It was an engineered floor, meaning there was 3/8" of bammboo on top of the T&G substrate. The bamboo was dense, but dented very easily. I think this is due to the fiberous structure. Knowing my abilibity to drop tools, knives and fishing equipment pointy side down, I would pick something else for myself.

[malovich]

look into stranded bamboo

[Shorty]

Our experience with bamboo in Architectural Woodwork is that it moves around a bit.
Friendly to the environment not. Manufactured with lots of glue in an energy intensive process & shipped half way around the world. They've got real good marketing though.