Western Red Cedar

Hello,
has anybody experience with Western Red Cedar as a boat building material, I life in Panama and thats about the only material I can get. I ordered Western Red Cedar Ply (is a multichine Plywood 28 ft woods Design Gypsy) and would like to know if that would be suitable for for stringers, beams, etc.
Thanx for answering
Winfried

 

Dear Winni, Hello. I am Joshua and I know a little about boatbuilding methods of New England. There, the old-timers would build the keel out of white oak, the frames of white pine and white oak, and the planks were cut from the finest red cedar. Many of us would consider themselves fortunate to have an abundance of red cedar. Of course, it is only good for the planks and nothing else. As a final note, I personally hope that you always consider recycled wood in your boatbuilding projects. We need all the live trees we can get.

 

Winni,

Western Red Cedar is a great boatbuilding material. It is soft so you have to be careful to protect it from wear & tear. Usually this would be done with epoxy and fiberglass cloth on the exterior.

What materials does the design specify? WRC works well in laminating with epoxy; it is light and fairly strong. It will work fine for your structural members, especially if laminated.

I have never come across red cedar plywood? Almost all marine plywood is either Douglass Fir or one of the various Mahoganies. It is very important that you get good quality materials as you are putting a great deal of labour into you project. The plywood must be structural grade, with no voids, and bonded with waterproof glue. I note there is marine grade mahogany plywood made in Brazil.


All the best, Tad