Best wood for a Stripper? | SouthernPaddler.com

Best wood for a Stripper?

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
My daughter and I are getting ready to build a strip canoe for a spring break trip on river.

No. 1 : What would be a good three wood choice for a great looking canoe?

No. 2 : Are there any tricky joinery problems we will need to watch out for?

Me, I was planning on strictly a cedar canoe, but she wants a tri-color wood pattern... It's her graduation present...so, she gets what she wants...(provided I don't pull my hair out...women get bossy...I tell ya.)
 

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
Thanks for the info, Jack. I'll drop a line to both, tonight. Thinking about mahogany for one of the three but don't know yet.

By the way, piper...we must've run in the same pack somewhere...I knew her, too.
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
We have a tremendous hardwood dealer here in Ponchatoula and there is a branch yard in Texas........otherwise, drop over here one day and pick out what you like. They have pallets and pallets of rosewood.......peruvian cherry.......spanish cedar........four kinds of mahagany........etc, etc......

All reasonable, nice stuff. Need details? PM me.

Piper
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Friend piper,

Lotsa rosewood? Heck, back in 1970 I bought a big ass Martin [D-28] with "the last of the Brazilan rosewood". Dont ya hate it when ya have ta sell one guitar ta git the next one? I sold 'er traded it [if ya recall 1970 ya weren't really there] fer one of the Epi brothers small axes. It still serves me well.

Aint it odd how different days, different moods 'n different music sets yer mind off? Last week it wuz Tom Waits.....Tom Traubert's Blues. Next week it mite be the Stones, Boccherini, Miles Davis, some homemade music, the Incredible String Band, Hayden, Joni Mitchell, Allison Krause, Mose Allison 'er The Band.

regards
bearridge
bodine school of music

ps I really like shakuhachi music too.

I wanted to play jazz in the worst way-and I did. Dave Van Ronk
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Surprised no one has mentioned cedar. Most strippers are made of cedar.

Friend of mine haunted lumber yards, old barns, etc. He bought he dadoes for making the strips. Then he begged, borrowed, or bought at pennies on a dollar the scrap cedar from a lot of places. Used the good, burnt the rest in camp.
 

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
Yeah, Jack.... I had originally intended to build with cedar... but Miss-20-on-a-scale-of-1-to-10 got REAL adamant :? about wanting somethin' that would look like a whole lot more. So, all that cedar I got is going to go to a 20 footer after I get through with helping her on this one. Dang gurl thinks she has t'come in first at everything...... :( ..oh well, but ain't that like a girl...pull out all the stops to get by daddy?.... She gets herself wedded up I s'pose I'll be singing that tune "I loved her first" through about six kegs of beer 'fore I pass out in Texas an' wake up in Floridie again.... :roll:
 

seedtick

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2006
1,161
7
Denham Springs, LA
Can you get your hands on some sinker cypress?

That stuff's been in the water and mud for a hundred years and has a good bit of color variations. It's easy to work and won't rot in your lifetime.

Here's a shot of an unfinished deck of a Lafitte skiff. A clear finish really brings out the grain and color. I'll see if I can find a finished picture


f0c5c99e.jpg
 

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
Seedtick, like the look....

You know a good supplier? What I'm able to get here has so many holes it'd take about three times footage to get enough...but then the final wood choice is gonna be Sheena's...after all it's gonna be her 'noe when its done.

Y'guys think I may be spoilin' her? Beginnin' t'feel like I's twisted around somebody's fingers....... :wink:

Yeah, I's a dotin' dad....
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
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Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
There's a few of us on here who claim brotherhood in your group, S's Dad. Mine's a 6 year old Granddaughter.

In some ways, they're interchangeable. In most ways, they're irreplaceable.

Lovable and irascible at the same time.
 

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
Jack, PLEEEAAAASE!
Don't get me started on the grandkids..... Love all eleven of 'em.... :oops: ....gotta feelin' I'm gonna be building for everyone but me when they get old enough to handle a paddle... :wink: :D :shock:

But me baby girl, Sheen, dat's my heart'n'soul fo' sho'. Guess cause it's her keeps comin' up with things for us to do together....y'know?

I guess, contrary to popular opinion,big-time college girls DO have time for family....'specially their dads....
 

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
Just one question, Jack...

How'd I go from asking fofr advise on which three woods would loko good together on a canoe to dang near (cough, cough)braggin' on Miss-20-on-a-scale-of-one-to-ten? :lol:
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
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Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
For people who love wooden boats, it's a natural progression.

It was a disagreement over how great wooden boats are, that got this net started in the first place. Another net for paddlers said that wood is not a satisfactory material for canoes or kayaks.

Some of us disagreed with that. Go figure.
 

sheena's dad

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2006
125
0
Moscow, Idaho
Yeah, Jack. I do know what ya mean.

Seems everybody has an opinion on why NOT to start building on this one for my daughter. Saying to just go out and buy a good aluminum. Well, I figure when they see this one, when we're done, they'll ALMOST consider revising their thinking. (Can't repeat, here, what Sheena's told them.....makes even this ex-navy man blush.... :oops: )

Built a few S&G but this'll be my first stripper. Got the boys cleaning out the shop...(leftovers from Hurricane Rita cleanup)...

Anyway, the doubters will eat their words when they see it.
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
sheena's dad said:
... Seems everybody has an opinion ... Saying to just go out and buy a good aluminum. ...
No such thing as a good aluminum canoe. Only useful if fleeing an advancing enemy.

Well, maybe two other uses. 1. Filled with water, sitting on a fire, to be used as a bathtub. 2. Serving as a bad example.

I can't think of any other good uses for an aluminum canoe.