: Almost any lumberyard should have some cedar and redwood, but I think your
: problem is that you are looking for a very expensive grade: Clear.

: Why?

: Just last night I found some notes about the cedar I bought for my canoe. I
: got it at the local Builders Square (now out of business). The boat was
: only 14 1/2 feet long, so I only shopped for boards up to 16 feet. 5/4 x 6
: cedar for outdoor decks was the material I chose. It was graded as select
: S4S. In 16 foot lengths the store was asking $14.30 a board. They had
: shorter lengths too, of course, and as I was trying to economize I
: compared the price per boardfoot for each length and found that the 10
: foot lengths at $6.70 each were the most economical.

: The price I calculated per boardfoot was $1.38, and now that I think on it,
: the wood was probably 20% to 25% less than that. 5/4 lumber is an inch
: thick, so I figured 2 running feet of 5/4 x 6 to a boardfoot. But probably
: I should have figured that a boardfoot is 2 running feet of 1x6 stock.
: Since a 1x6 is actually only 3/4 inches thick, I got 1/4 inch more wood
: for my money. Even the 16 foot boards were reasonable, costing about $1.78
: per boardfoot (or maybe I should say "nominal square foot")

: I got knots.

: Some of them were big and some were tiny. Some of my strips were totally
: clear and a few broke into three pieces -- right at the substantial knots.
: I cut those off square and used them -- it looks like clear wood. The tiny
: knots are no more visible than the staple holes, but they influence the
: grain that swirls around them and add some pleasant texture and color to
: the wood. It looks like wood, not plastic. Half of the knots turned into
: sawdust as I ripped the strips.

: I think you would be happy with a lower grade of wood than "clear".
: Clear grade wood is easily twice the price of what I used, and if you want
: longer lengths, I think you might be looking at over $6 a board foot --
: over 4 times what I paid. Above that you will probably have to pay
: shipping for a special order.

: If you find wood with a tight grain and even color, a cheaper grade will be
: more cost effective. With the difference in price you can afford to buy an
: extra board or two (or many more) and give yourself more strips to chose
: from. The best ones go on the boat,and you can save your worst strips for
: stirring paint. If you plan to make bead and cove edges, the ugly strips
: are the ones you use (and waste) to set up the router.

: Of course butt joints and scarfs can be used to create longer pieces of
: "clear" strips, too. These joints are less noticeable if the
: wood color matches, or is close. Care in handling your strips after you
: cut them will allow you to join sections of strips that were cut
: sequentially. These strips will have the best grain and color match, and
: joints between them will look great.

: Hope this helps.

: PGJ

Thanks for your response, Paul!!!

Yes, you're absolutely right. The problem is that the clear boards (@ local lumber yard) I have seen here in Des Moines, Iowa costs $45 for clear redwood (3/4" (barely) x 5.5" x 20'). For clear Western Red (3/4" (barely) x 7.5" x 20')the cost is $60. Actuallly, I thought this was reasonable, but still expensive. The boards that I saw at Menards/Home Depot are not even close to the quality (beauty) of these boards. These clear boards were absolutely gorgeous in comparison. But I thought maybe some body might know where I could get the boards a little cheaper. I am afraid if I start sawing knotty strips of wood I will run into a lot of overhead in terms of both time and potentially how the boat will look. Also, I don't know how this piece-mealing broken strips will affect the overall integrity of the finished boat either. If I'm going to spend so much time putting the boat together, I figure I might as well spend an extra $100 to $150 more for the higher grade wood and also, hopefully save time.

But I can still appreciate spending less for wood, believe me!!

Any additional opinions are always appreciated...

Thanks,

Rich