Consider treated pine too.

zilla said..
I suggest the hardest timber you can find since the rubbing strip is going to get rubbed.
I used jarrah for mine with a 20mm x 3mm strip of 316 stainless steel screwed around the outer edge of that. Remember to cut an angle into the lower surface so that the rubbing strip will slip off anything trying to catch underneath it.

+1. I agree with these sentiments, use HARDWOOD not meranti or , heaven forbid tree turd pine.

UncleBob said..

zilla said..
I suggest the hardest timber you can find since the rubbing strip is going to get rubbed.
I used jarrah for mine with a 20mm x 3mm strip of 316 stainless steel screwed around the outer edge of that. Remember to cut an angle into the lower surface so that the rubbing strip will slip off anything trying to catch underneath it.

+1. I agree with these sentiments, use HARDWOOD not meranti or , heaven forbid tree turd pine.

Construction grade treated pine paints up well and is ideal for gunwales. The big advantage it has over hardwood is paint will stick to it and not peel in direct sunlight.

The rubbing strakes on the paddle steamers was Red River Gum.....now THERE"S a hard wood.

Pointless using teak and then painting over it. The various gums would be fine if you can find something that has been seasoned properly. shrink rate on Spotted gum is about 7% and sometimes hard to keep the paint on. Rot can be a problem with spotted gum too if your unlucky with the way the mill cut it. Very little demand for some of these timbers today so they are hard to find. This is a yacht and having heavy hardwood is not going to do much for the sailing performance. I would consider secondhand clear oregon if you can find it. Steer away from plantation stuff from the orient like Meranti, the quality varies. Having painted gunwales in a soft wood like off the shelf treated pine allows you to scarf in patches when required and over paint.