Sitka spruce trees offered

[armchairsailor]

I know that this isn't necessarily the right forum, but it's more a case of getting the word out than anything else, so apologies for the reposting...

The last storm we had made a helluva mess of our little 2.5 acre wood, and I wandered through it yesterday for the first time to discover the true extent of the damage.

The recent winds got pretty darned high, and I watched in horror as both my potting shed took off and three huge trees went down in my field, including a lime marked on the OS 1st Edition (1870) map. But the wood suffered more -I reckon about 40 sitkas went down like dominoes and need to get floored and made safe in the next few weeks.

So... if anyone knows of a boatbuilder or sparmaker that is looking for some good straight wood to make oars, spars etc from, I would love to see some of it being made use of in a way other than to keep the house warm.

I know the likes of Collars won't be interested, as they use Alaskan sitka, but it's still about 40 years old and was tightly grown and straight. I'm getting the tree surgeons in to make good, so extraction can be arranged, Location is Kinross, Scotland.

Thanks,
Damian

 

[Sandyman]

Why not try contacting the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth. They do a lot of restoration work there & might be interested.

 

[sarabande]

that's very sad, and I am sorry for you. It is not a pleasant feeling to look at downed trees.


The lime may be of interest to wood carvers. Is there a guild in Scotland ? It will need planking and seasoning - which can be quite expensive.

 

[armchairsailor]

I've spoken to Alec Jordan of the kits, and he may come out to have a look - the Scottish Coastal Rowing bunch may be interested if the wood's not too knotty.

I'm doing an insurance job on it, so I really want to see it lifted and taken away by others who can find a use for it, so I may also contact my woodturning contacts.

Thanks

 

[Twister_Ken]

Sort of treading in areas where I know very little, but one problem with removing windblow is that it takes nutrients off site that would be reprocessed into the soil through decay if left in place. So it can lead to poor regrowth and soil erosion.

Also, having removed windblow in the past (worked on forestry for a bit between education and further education - the place grew sitka mainly for pit props, which dates me), the timber often had shakes because - I think - it didn't fall cleanly like a properly felled piece, and quite a lot had to be cut to waste.

 

[armchairsailor]

Frankly I don't hold out a whole lot of hope - it's not been managed and probably has too many knots to be of use for anything boaty, but you never know. Anyone local that wants some firewood should PM me!

 

[Seajet]

This is purely off the cuff, but I'd contact Portsmouth Historic Dockyard & Greenwich Maritime museums, and perhaps more hopefully the outfit at Charlestown, Cornwall who operate tall ships - sorry I don't know their name, hopefully someone here will know.

Agree with your sentiments Armchairsailor, hope some good use can be found.

 

[Shanty]

Dunno about the sitka, but Scottish Wood (www.scottishwood.co.uk) might be interested in the lime, and any other hardwoods. They are at Oakley, so not too far from Kinross.

 

[armchairsailor]

This is purely off the cuff, but I'd contact Portsmouth Historic Dockyard & Greenwich Maritime museums, and perhaps more hopefully the outfit at Charlestown, Cornwall who operate tall ships - sorry I don't know their name, hopefully someone here will know.

Agree with your sentiments Armchairsailor, hope some good use can be found.

Thanks, but since I'm in Scotland, it would have to be good stuff for any of the more southerly outfits to be interested - it'll have to be assessed before we know if it's viable.

 

[chinita]

You could have a chat with Adrian Morgan who writes for Classic Boat Mag.

http://www.viking-boats.com/