Wooden Boat Building with Tropical Hardwoods

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• By Yacht Charter

We found wood to be the ideal material for building a classic schooner, but not just because it is the traditional boat building material. There are several scientific and practical reasons for choosing wood over fibreglass or steel even for modern yachts.

 Firstly, wood is high in tensile strength, durable, workable and combines stiffness with light weight in a way that is more structurally efficient than just about any other material, including high-tech-laminates.

Secondly, with proper maintenance the well-built wooden boat lasts longer than its fiberglass counterparts. In part this is because wood is able to absorb and release water so a wooden boat will actually get less condensation and dampness in it than a fiberglass one.

Thirdly, wood feels great to live with and sail on – heavy, solid and safe. As most sailors will tell you, no other material can beat the feel and ambiance of a wooden boat, especially a carvel-built one.

The spirit of Raja Laut is in Borneo and, as luck would have it, so are some of the world’s most durable hardwoods. The availability of the exceptional “Borneo Ironwood” (species name:Eusideroxylon Zwageri), known locally as Belian or Kayu Ulin, made the choice of wood easy. Belian is one of the worlds hardest and heaviest woods: harder, heavier and more durable than Teak, Ebony, Mahogany or Iroko, and one of the most exceptionally naturally durable hardwood species in existence.

In the Australian Standards report on Timber Preservation and Durability (AS 5604 – 2005), Belian achieved the highest durability ratings out of all the woods studied (including Burmese Teak). In the same report Belian was given a “marine-borer-resistance” life expectancy of 60+ years in southern waters. This resistance estimate is for untreated/unprotected timber, and we understood that with proper maintenance a well-built Belian hull could last for 100 years.

Other wood used in the construction include:

Deck: Burmese Teak. Undoubtedly, the world’s most valuable and versatile hardwood, it has properties which make it the only wood that is ideally suited for the construction of the wooden deck of a boat.

Deckhouse & Interior: Selangan Batu. Selangan Batu comes from the family of Dipterocarpaceae with a given botanical name of Shorea spp . Other known given names are Tekam, Kowan Darob and Balau. It has excellent durability and is usually used for exterior construction, marine and wharfs, even piling, and boat hull construction.

Interior Floors: Merbau. Merbau wood comes from the tree with botanical name Intsia Bijuga. The tree grows in the lowland tropical rainforest near the mangrove swamps, rivers or floodplains. Merbau is a very durable and termite-resistant wood which makes it a highly sought after material for flooring and other usage.

For further information log on website :
http://www.rajalaut.com/blog/wooden-boat-building-wood/