Beauchat hybrid? (wood)

[icarus pacific]

Koa is similar to teak in it's dense and oily nature, but you're going to have to look for a while to find some with any straight grain, which is one of the nice things about Koa, it's grain is very figured and the color is just nuts.


sven

 

[fuzz]

Does the swirly grain seriously affect its accurac as a speargun?

 

[Iyadiver]

Fuzz,

Unless that wood "whips" I guess it will still be accurate. He he he he.


Sven,
I recall a boat building manual saying about a wood called Douglas Fir , (something like) that it is being used as stringers when encapsulated by fiberglass. What are they and are they possible for spearguns ?

I use teak for custom sonar transducer installation block. There is a Grand Bank yacht of a client that had that that teak on the hull transducer and it has lasted since 1983. In fact the same yacht has all teak deck work on her. Some have rot but due to the caulking failure where under the planks it has been wet and so on. I suppose being wet underwater in sea water is better than being wet as a deck with fresh water left over in the seams. Since teak is common in my country, I think it is one of the world best wood for speargun.

There is a wood in Kalimantan ( Borneo) part of my country which the literal translation is called IRON wood. This is quite rare species and it is so heavy it sinks. It is a common wood for piers and I know one pier that has lasted 20 years rot free. All they need is to change the screws. U need to drill first before installing any screws on this wood or else you will bent the screws. Where they come from, some locals built house on the rivers and they legs used are made from this wood. For piers, even teak can't beat them......so they say.

 

[icarus pacific]

Yes, Harold, the more figured a grain is, the better the chances of the wood tweaking.

Douglas fir is considered a softwood, Iya. In fact it is most often used in the framing and siding of houses. It's grain can be very straight and on that basis is really strong in the direction of the grain, under compression, but it's grain is also very porous, and so it soaks up water. It's used in boats as stringers and such as it doesn't have a lot of oil in it and the resin will soak into the wood a bit and increase the bond of the fiberglass. If you can keep it dry, it's a good, light wood that will take a grat deal of weight on it's ends.

Ironwood is indeed some pretty fun stuff and heavier than Oprah, but it's real resistant to worms and rot. A similar wood, Apitong exhibits the same features in a slightly lighter wood and also has some very straight grain.

Teak is just so damn cool in that if you keep it oiled, or submerged in salt water, it'll last for generations. It will rot with freshwater exposure and the subsequent drying out, and so the bond between it and the deck or the stringers needs to be very closely watched. Dolfinite or 5200 and a good fastener schedule will ensure that the stuff will reflect your pride of ownership for years.


sven