My latest find

[ncboman]

Aaron, 'Only Dad would spot that and know what it is.' :biggrin:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/ncboman/dugout%20canoe/dugout8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/ncboman/dugout%20canoe/dugout1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v50/ncboman/dugout%20canoe/dugout9.jpg

[dave-t.]

Looks like a dugout canoe pulled up from the bottom of a swamp.

[ncboman]

Looks like a dugout canoe pulled up from the bottom of a swamp.

Bingo. :cool1:

[dave-t.]

How long is that thing, 20ft?

[Twanger]

Very cool!

Now whatcha gonna do with that thing?

[Altjaeger]

My first thought was a long boat. Nice find.

[ncboman]

It's 18'6" long.

I read this is standard for dugouts used in the Chesapeake Bay. All along the bottom, holes were drilled and plugged. I read this was done in the building process so the thickness could be guaged and kept even as it was thinned.

I figure circa @ 1880.


Now whatcha gonna do with that thing?

I'm hoping some fat cat from Md might like it as a yard ornament.

First $15,000 takes it. :captain:

[Twanger]

Sooooooo tempting. :hahaha:

Hopefully the antiquities preservation society doesn't get your phone number....

[Bushman]

Well, if someone will buy a cornflake that looks like the shape of Illinois off ebay, who am I to say that someone somewhere wouldn't want a canoe that looks like that.:smile:

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

nc, that is very cool! What was it made from? It had to be under water, so maybe cypress?

Alan

[ncboman]

yes, it was underwater for the most part. When I spotted it I thought it was a wide plank of some kind. After somewhat of a struggle with my boat back in boogerland, I got to it and saw it was something else. It wasn't until I freed the sunk end, actually tangled under an old downed tree, that I realized what it was. I managed to turn it rightside up and it floated well enough to tow back to the ramp.

Once in the yard it dried out and is actually quite light in weight now , less than a hundred pounds I'm almost sure. I'm not positive of the wood but I think cypress due to how fast it dried and the light weight.

per the 15k tag. I think that will be the value I establish for it. If we have another hurricane year I may be able to donate it and take the writeoff. ,,, or someone may show up with CIF (cash in fist). :shakehands:

Now I gotta build a shelter to keep it under. :hmmmm2:

[Bill Gunn]

I don't know this for sure, but do you think you should keep it wet to keep it from dry-rotting ??

I think preservationists do that to (old wood) boats they found sunk in other parts of the world, like old Viking ships.
They say otherwise they rot away very fast.

Just a question....

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Supposedly, if it's cypress, it's not supposed to rot, either in the water or out. I would have thought that the maker, considering the time and effort it must have taken to build these craft, would use cypress. It's straight grained and doesn't rot (as fast) as other hardwoods (although it is a conifer).

I've read about the Viking ships that are kept in moist, climate controlled rooms and it make sense. They stayed around for a thousand years because they were not exposed to the air.

Better hurry up and sell that thing nc.

Alan

[ncboman]

Keeping it wet would preserve it better but it will last a loong time if kept dry. Constant wetting and drying is what causes rot.

Considering where it came from, almost anything is better.

btw, cypress will rot and it isn't a hardwood, in fact it's very soft. Cypress has some resistance to rot but not like juniper.

I know wood fairly well and I can't tell what type tree it's from. I haven't cut into it or damaged it in any way to find out. Many of the old dugouts were made from tulip poplar and many from cypress. I haven't read of any made from juniper but there had to have been. Juniper is probably the best choice in wood for the purpose.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

We had an old water cistern at the ranch made of cypress boards. It fell apart some time back and I gathered up the lumber. After several years of hemhawing I built our dining room table from it. It is not as heavy as Oak, Ash, Walnut or Mesquite but it has some heft to it. It requires a good coat of varnish because it is somewhat soft. I had always heard that cypress was not used in ship/boat building because it did not float well. I don't know though, I've heard a lot of things in my life. Thank God for Google.

But there it is!

Main Uses

Cypress is a popular choice for building construction, posts, beams, decks, docking, porch flooring, greenhouses, siding and stadium seats." Cypress is also used to make caskets, doors, blinds, sash and other types of millwork. Fine grain cypress is used to make custom cabinetry.

Because of its watertight durability, it is also used for cooperage, shingles, in tanks, vats, ship and boat building and to make railroad cars.


Alan

[ncboman]

The facia boards on my house are cypress. :proud:

I thought it was a good idea but the hurricane whipped so much sand and debris, it actually sand blasted the boards to the point the grain sticks out a little farther than the soft between the grains, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, once smooth finished boards aren't smooth now. I'm gonna wrap it with pvc coated coil stock when I get around to it. :turtle:

[Bill Gunn]

when I get a round tuit. :turtle:

Got one for ya, now get to work !!!!!!

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2250/777751/1363903/390399054.jpg

:ahhhhh:

[Altjaeger]

ROFL!!!