[Strawbale] Oak debarking

[Chris Green]

Shody Ryon wrote:
> What kind of wood works well for edges for a wooden
> barge made of laminated plywood covered with epoxy and
> glass fiber? The builder said oak works well, perhaps
> he is referring to white oak? I don't know why I
> assumed he was speaking of red oak, I guess because I
> used to use it a lot for cabinets.
>   
For marine applications, "white oak" is preferable because it is much 
more rot-resistant than the other oak varieties. In North American there 
are at least 24 oak varieties. I don't rightly know if "white oak" is 
one single species or a group, but I do know, from my woodworking days, 
that it is expensive and hard to get because the Europeans have been 
buying the bulk of the production for cabinetry and fine woodworking 
uses. So red oak types are often used in boatbuilding. It's not as good 
as the white, but it's still pretty durable, and a lot tougher tougher 
than soft woods like cedar.

However, if you're using epoxy and fibreglass mesh in boat building, and 
the wood is to be covered, you can get away with using almost anything: 
a boatbuildier (or boatbuilders) in Homer, Alaska build boat hulls  from 
2x2 balsam, which is one of the least durable softwoods in my 
experience. (stinkiest, too...)  The North Pacific and Bering Straits 
are a severe environment to put a wooden boat in, so it shows how tough 
the epoxy is.You have to protect the epoxy from UV light, so high 
quality marine spar varnish or marine paint is needed.
For any kind of boat, regular maintenance is important to preserve them.

Ash might be a less expensive choice. Osage would work well too, if you 
can obtain that, but I suspect it's way more costly....

Cheers,

Chris Green.