mikeinkwazi
New member
I want to make a 20 foot laminated boom. Is there any other wood than Douglas Fir (maybe Larch or Ash?) that will do?
Sitka Spruce is lightest. You'll need patches of glass matting on places where the boom regularly touches - for example shrouds. Collars usually have it in stock.
There aren't all that many oak trees here, but we do have millions of eucalypts of a dazzling variety. Offhand, I think that there are something like 400 species to choose from. So I would choose Spotted Gum. Very durable, straight grained, lovely to work and a pale honey colour.
Peter.