I am building some small toy boats for several customers. These boats are bathtub boats and measure 2 1/2 X 8. I want to achieve a certain look with these boats and that is a dark lower hull and a light colored upper hull. The boat in the picture is what I want to get consistantly. The boat pictured has a sapelle lower hull and an African mahogany upper hull. Here is the problem; If I could get this effect every time Id be happy but when I went back to my supplier to get more African just like I got before the color wasnt nearly as light…in fact it looked a lot like Phillipene mahogany in color but lighter in weight then Phillipine. I was told that this “African mahogany” varies a lot in color. Sippo and Sappelle are nice and dark while the wood I want to combine with these two species varies tremendously in color ( or so I am told). So in order to get the consistancy in color I need I bought some cypress to combine with the sapelle ( or phillipene whichever I have) to get a nice contrast. I know cypress is great for outdoor projects but I dont know much about how it works and any problems I might encounter using it as i want. The finish I have been putting on the hulls is Waterlox Marine with Watcos on the upper house and stack. Anyone see any potential problems with the cypress?
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
” If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy……..yessa!”
Replies
Even though it would be tough to work with. I would use Ipe for the lower hull section. It is very heavy and give you some floating stability, making the boat bottom heavy. Food for thought.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Edited 5/18/2008 6:55 pm ET by BruceS
Bruce.......what is IPE? and the lower hull isnt my problem............... its the upper part that is the problem........... I need light in color and light in weight so that the boat floats upright but doesnt go awash on the main deck when placed in the tub. Oh I wont work with anything that isnt real wood..... nothing made need apply.
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Ipe, sometimes called Brazilian Walnut. spacific gravity of .85+ so it would be a perfect hull bottom and much much heavier than the African mahogany. You can find it a most good lumber yards that sell premium decking materials. To lighten up the super structure you could drill in some through port holes and drill the stack. The heavier bottom will help solve the upper problem.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce, I have a feeling you might have got slightly mixed up for I've never heard of Ipê described as Brazilian walnut. I've heard a few names for Tabebuia serratifolia, (Ipê) but I haven't heard that one. It's got a specific gravity (SG) of about 1.08 and generally weighs between about 60 and 75 lbs/ft³.
Brazilian walnut is the name I've heard given to imbuia (Phoebe porosa), although nowadays I more often see it described simply as imbuia, or variations of that name. This stuff weighs about 40- 42 lbs/ft³ with an SG of about 0.66. Slainte.Richard Jones Furniture
It would be nice if only the botanical names were used, then there would be no confusion. My Dad was a landscaper and only used the botanical names. Common names often differ by local, poplar/yellow tulip for example.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Cherryjohn,
I don't know if this will be a factor with you, but I can no longer work with cypress in my shop. There's something in the dust that closes down my bronchial tubes. I get a big allergic reaction to even the slightest exposure to the airborne particles. And I have very decent dust collection now in my shop.
If you're doing multiples of these wooden boats, it might be something to think about before investing in a big load of stock...
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
So far in my life I have had no allergies to anything but.........this answer is exactly why I asked the question. Also I wanted to know if it had any difficult properties like splintering or reluctance to be worked to a smooth finish. When I first saw the board I bought ( only 4 b/f ) I was sure it was pine. Pine, of course, would not work. I didnt go overboard with this purchase and the light colored African Mahogany is still my first choice but Cypress has the right color and it does come in at a good price compared to mahogany. Thanks for the inputWicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Hi CJ,
Cypress is a delight to work with and it should outlast the new owners.
Ken
I work with cypress quite a bit, it's plentiful here in South Louisiana. I don't see any reason that it should't work for you as long as you stick to the new growth cypress and not old growth stuff. The old wood tends to be dark and it generally called Red Cypress and comes mostly from recycled wood or sinker logs. The sinkers will also pick up minerals in the water turning it dark. However this old stuff while being beautiful is very expensive. But the new growth should work for you. Some people may be allergic to it but I haven't heard of this much. A person should always protect themselves from dust however.
Zabo2
Native boat building woods -- bald cypress (as said, new growth is light in color and fairly easy to work). and Eastern White Cedar. Similar to bald cypress, and likely to be available in your part of the country. Both are light weight, can cause allergies, straight grained, very rot resistant. Issue with boats is you need a little weight at the 'keel' to keep them floating upright. Not sure you need to go the Ipe route, just something with a higher SG to keep boat from rolling on its keel. Big boy boats have the same problem. Dan Carroll
Hi Dan,
Ballast is an issue. If I was making them, I'd send my nephew down to the river with a dive mask and fins and have him collect fishing weights for me. I'd shape (melt or pound) them into a cylinder and drill holes in the bottom of the boat and fill them with lead. Patch over the holes with plugs. Or an easer method, rout a channel in the bottom (the dark wood) prior to gluing it to the top.
Another cheap source of lead is roofing flashing or channel. A piece of this would go a long way in making ballast for small boats.
ken
Thanks for the input. The one board I did buy for a trial is quite light in color ....looks a lot like pine with a more pronounced grain. It wasnt overly expensive, about $4 a b/f. What happens to the color of this over time? I will be putting Watcos natural oil on it. I like the contrast with the mahogany I will be gluing it to so I think this just might be the answer. Id prefer the light colored African Mahogany if I could get the consistancy in the color I need but cypress might just work fine. Doesnt seem to have many knots in what I have seen.
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Cypress will grey if left to the natural elements. An oil finish will also darken it some. A clear poly of shellac will keen it light colored unless you are going to keep it outside. If so I haven't found any clear finish that will keep it from darkening. Even spar varnish which is meant for marine use will only last a couple of years. Of course I'm talking about out hot humid wether here in LA, might work better where you live.
Zabo2
These are bathtub boats for kids....they might get a years wort of use then they go to the toy box. can live with 2 years of useWicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
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