Wood moisture content

[mark pritchett]

I have an old town canoe in New Mexico. It will be my next boat project( currently restoring a 12 ft wooden sail boat).

My question is about what to do to keep the wood from drying out too much here in the desert. I have found that wooden projects that I brought from back east have opened in places that were not open for the last 30 years.
Any ideas or tips would be great!
Mark

 

[Mark Adams]

Hi Mark,

I am in in Reno. We have 10-15% humidity here. I pretty much don't worry about shrinkage in my wood/canvas canoes. I have noticed shrinkage in my all wood canoes, but nothing major. The cedar is going to be dry to the point that one of the steps in restoration is the application of linseed/turpentine to bring some oil back into the wood. So, no worries!