White oak for gunwale?

Wrothgar

Curious about Wooden Canoes
Is white oak a good choice for a gunwale? Fixing up a chesnut...and have a little extra w.oak
 
White oak is strong, bends easily, and is rot resistant. The only downside is that it is heavy.
 
The inside and outside gunwales on my Rushton Indian are white oak and after 117 years they are still in great shape. Heavy but durable.
 
It's inaccessible in the rafters of my garage. I have a bunch of boats and a form underneath were it's stored so unless I move a lot of stuff to place a ladder I don't think I can get anywhere near the rails to get a picture. I'll take a look later and see if I can get close to it w/o killing myself.
What makes you think yours are not original? The rabbet doesn't sound like it's wrong.
The rails on my 14 footer are spliced from two pieces of wood. You'd think that getting a 14 foot piece of wood was not a big deal, apparently not. If the boat were not 100% original I'd replace them.
 
:)
Somebody else with a stuffed garage.
I like it.


It's inaccessible in the rafters of my garage. I have a bunch of boats and a form underneath were it's stored so unless I move a lot of stuff to place a ladder I don't think I can get anywhere near the rails to get a picture.
 
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Do you have a photo? I think my chestnut has replaced gunwales which are smaller than others....rabbet isn't quite 1/4 inch....
Not sure how helpful these are but it's what I could manage using the zoom on my camera...…... nut rails (2).JPG nut rails (3).JPG
 
Nice pictures. Your inwales look wonder than mine. I know the decks have been altered...so the gunwales are likely newer too. The inwales are cut into the decks and don't reach the very tips of the boat.
 
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