Replace planking with different timber

[polhoff]

Can you do this ? Are there any unpleasant consequences ?

I ask, out of curiousity, because for example I've read that it's really hard to get good teak these days. You can get fast grown plantation teak, but it does not have the same properties as slow grown natural teak, for example. So if you have an old teak hull and you need to replace a plank, can you do this with a different timber or is this just not possible ?

 

[johnlilley]

You might use iroko in place of teak as it has similar qualities in that it is durable, relatively stable, a 'hardwood" and strong and commonly used for planking.
You can use other hardwoods such as mahogany, sapele etc without detriment.. You cannot use ash or beech or walnut though as they are not generally durable.
It is advisable not to use softwood intermingled with hardwood as, although larch and pitch pine for instance, are extremely durable, the stability is different in that coniferous wood expands and contracts much more than hardwood when wet/dry. Some vessels have pitch pine planking below the waterline but mahogany above so some combinations do work so long as it is either a large area of one or the other.
John Lilley

 

[Bob Stay]

Very interesting, my vessel has Norwegian pitch pine planking, built 60 yrs ago, and apparently it is no longer available at any price.
It doesn't move at all and is rock hard. I often wonder what I would replace it with, in the event of collision damage.

 

[Woodlouse]

Very interesting, my vessel has Norwegian pitch pine planking, built 60 yrs ago, and apparently it is no longer available at any price.
It doesn't move at all and is rock hard. I often wonder what I would replace it with, in the event of collision damage.

What ever you like really. A lot of wooden boats built today are planked in larch, though you could use oak.

 

[Poignard]

One of the contributors to this forum (I'm not sure but it might be Sailorman?) can supply teak. I don't know if it's wild teak or planation-grown