Hi Paul

The quote I got for a 4x2 was a bit more than half a 4x4 - this was from a large timber yard that specialises in colonial restoration stuff.

I didn't know that weatherboard was made from WRC - this weekend I'm going to go rummaging at one of my favourite haunts - the big red shed - they recycle old timber. They once bought an old wooden railway bridge that was going to be destroyed. Dismantled it, shipped it 300k to the shop and sold the timber - made me a very nice coffee table

The nail holes in your paddle sound great. Don't know how they'd go in the side of my kayak though

I'll certainly take up your offer of help with suppliers etc. Thanks

btw, I bought an oregon 4x2 this afternoon. nice straight grain, very clean. I actually went looking for hoop pine - they had some that looked great but only 3x2's long enough (at a smaller yard that I was passing by - not the decent one). Will be making my first paddle this weekend and it should serve as inspiration to get moving on making my kayak.

pjr

Peter Robinson
Brisbane
Australia

: G'day Pete,

: I'm down in Sydney and was in the same boat a few years ago. WRC is REALLY
: expensive in OZ, though you might want to ask for a quote for a 2x2 piece
: of WRC, I got a feeling it may be less than half the cost of a 4x4. Don't
: buy it from someone like mitre10 or hardware house these guys mark up
: everything by way too much. Have a look in the local yellow pages for a
: WRC specialist (if you havn't already).

: I made my greenland paddle from a recycled 1 1/4" x 9" piece of WRC
: that "fell off the back of a truck" I laminated the left over
: bits with some douglas fir (yes, it's just plain old oregon, but bloody
: strong) and made a euro style paddle out of this. The laminated paddle is
: much stronger and almost as light as the solid WRC paddle. I give em both
: a coat of linseed oil each year and they are just getting prettier and
: prettier with each coat.

: Another option is to lookup your local recycled building materials /
: demolition yard. These guys will probably be able to provide you with a
: higher quality timber for less than the cost of a new piece. A lot of
: those old queenslander houses up your way, were made from really high
: quality timber, in fact the weatherboards (sideing) on a lot of em are WRC
: and secondhand pieces should be a cheep source of material if you go on
: and build a stripper (or you could laminate some to make a paddle). My
: greenland paddle actually has a few old nail holes in it, but this in no
: way detracts from the look of the thing, everyone says that it just adds
: character, I agree.

: I've also buit Nick's S&G guillemot as my first boat, so feel free to email
: me any questions about building or local suppliers etc.

: Cheers,

: Paul