Timber is the best and most traditional material to use when building a boat, it is sustainable, resilient, easy to maintain and offers high durability. Timber is prized for its availability, affordability and natural appearance but, like most timber projects some species are better than others and offer many variations in terms of colour, strength and durability all of which are critical when building a boat.
When building a boat out of timber it is important to consider deterioration if water is allowed to enter its inner layers. If this occurs, you will find over time the timber will start to warp and rot, impacting its ability to stay afloat. However, some types of wood naturally produce chemicals which help prevent this and others are highly vulnerable and not suitable for use in boat building.
What timber is best to use?
Your timber will be exposed to all-natural elements, this means it needs to be able to withstand weather conditions and water. It is also important to consider how free of knots the timber is, this is because the timber will not be able to bend properly.
Western Red Cedar is a softwood that is reddish-brown in colour and is light in weight. The timber is perfect for all outdoor projects and is long lasting, it is valued for its high resistance and decay.
Douglas Fir is a softwood that is light red-brown in colour and has good overall strength. The timber is light in weight and is available in long lengths.
Iroko is a low-cost hardwood that is a great alternative to teak. The timber has excellent strength properties and has good stability. It takes nails and screws well and can be glued satisfactorily.
Timbersource offers nationwide delivery to most of mainland UK, or alternatively customers are welcome to collect their orders from our premises.Get in touch with a member of the team today.
Timbersource are a leading online timber merchant supplying hardwood and softwood timber to the joinery, carpentry, retail and construction at competitive prices.
