Maybe it's something to do with the porosity of oak. Wooden barrels are made out of oak, specifally white oak. Red oak is much more porous and actually leaks stored liquid if used as a barrel. I think the same goes for the preference for white oak in ship building. Point being that the lower pore size of white oak may lead to weaker bonding.

Or maybe its something with the tannins in oak...

KTK

> One note on Oak; I have a Cosine Wherry that is six years old.
> I have noticed that over time the epoxy came free. It did not bond
> to the oak as well as it did the redwood and the fir. I have read
> that Oak is not as good for epoxy, as it does not absorb the resin
> like other woods. Perhaps it was caused by something else but I find
> it odd that only the oak has a problem.

>> I am half way through with my first stitch and glue and I am
>> eagerly looking forward to a strip built. I have access to as much
>> free red oak, white oak, popular and gum as I need. Are these woods
>> usable in strip builts? If not why not? What would happen if I used
>> them?