pecan floorboards for stems

[David James]

Hi folks

I'm working on my first boat, a Freedom 17, and I was wondering if some old pecan floorboards would be an interesting or appropriate choice for my stems? I also have some Brazilian cherry floorboards available and wondered about layering the two woods. Should I be carefull about grain orientation? I'm leaning towards cutting and planing to produce 1/8 inch hardwood strips for the outer stems, and going with 1/4 inch spruce strips for the inners.
(My neighbor remodeled part of his house and replaced the pecan floor with cherry)

Thanks for any help or suggestions

Dave

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

I would think that going with 1/8" strips on your outer stem would take care of any bending problems, if any from the pecan, as I am not familiar with how that type of wood bends. Do a test to see if 1/8" strips bend without any problems first.
As far as grain orientation, yes it is important. Remember, you are going to shaping these little gems and if you have grain going in different directions, you could be in for some disapointment. I would reccomend numbering your strips as they come off of the saw blade and selecting your contrasting woods for your outer stems with similar grain orientation. Spruce will be easy to shape for your inner stems, but if you are considering adding a sail rig to this project, go with a hardwood inner stem as well to take care of the forces placed onto the hull from the rudder gudgeons.