: I'm starting a hybrid Night Heron with a Sapele deck. I'm ripping
: mine to a little over 1/8" thick. No bead and cove and no
: staples. I'm stitching up the hull this weekend or next and
: should be starting the deck by early October. I should have full
: write-ups on the blog.
: =D

Hi Dan

With planking that thin you would need little or no bevel except at the sharpest corners too, especially on the deck.

I look forward to following the project.

I used to do a lot of carving and furniture in Sapele and the colour was always so rich and lustrous. Very beautiful, especially if you can get old growth timber.

I found some wood in australia which was great for carving, with a close grain and beautiful red colour which was sold as Australian red cedar. Much more similar in grain and colour to sapele than to WRC. It also was available in large thick planks 2 ft wide and more, and was fairly cheap. It was probably not cedar, as Ausi oak is not actually oak, it just looks and behaves like it.

The Ausi cedar had a great bonus. It looked like old mahogany but was extremely light in weight.

I wonder if any Ausis out there may have come across this wood and could give us more info?

Et