Paul, I never realized how lucky we are in New England. Ash here is not only readily available, but cheap as well.

> If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford and obtain ash in the
> lengths needed, then your boat building should be pleasureable, and your
> craft should be wonderful. The folding kayak I have been working on called
> for ash for the stringers, but I was not able to find any at a price I
> could afford at the time, so I used cedar, and just cut the pieces a bit
> bigger on the assumption that (size for size) ash was stronger than cedar.
> For example, if my plans had called for 3/4 by 5/8 ash I probably would
> have used 7/8 x 3/4 cedar, and merely altered the shape of the notches in
> the frames to suit these changes. (I had plenty of cedar around -- and
> already scarfed into long lengths -- as I was slicing strips for a canoe.)

> Changes in wood species are pretty common. You make do with whatever is
> locally available. Paul Jacobson