I have a old town Penobscot that had been turned into a solo canoe. I am looking at removing the aluminum gunnels. And I am looking into replacing them with woods ones. Which wood works the best and easiest.

Probably ash. Spruce is OK. Cherry. Butternut. Not oak. Not maple. Not pine.

Teak?

Ok then where will I find these at?
My local Menards or Lowes are not going to have them are they?

I would go with ash myself.

Home Depot nor Menards will have them in the lengths you are looking for. Doing a quick google search, I would call up Alexander Lumber in Geneseo or EW Houghton Lumber in Galva.

quote Minnesotian: "
I would go with ash myself.


Home Depot nor Menards will have them in the lengths you are looking for. Doing a quick google search, I would call up Alexander Lumber in Geneseo or EW Houghton Lumber in Galva. "

Ok great I will call them today

I redid the gunwales on my Spirit II in cherry last year. Very happy with the result. Originally I was going to get the wood from a lumber supply place near Chicago and cut the boards down to the sizes I needed, however it looked to be more involved than I had the time & expertise for. Eventually got my materials from a cabinet shop so it was already sanded on all sides. After the scarfs were glued the joined gunwales were sent back to the cabinet shop to get a rounded profile put on the outside pieces. The inwales were left square.

Ash is commonly used. Teak is also popular because of its resistance to water.

My vote goes to Ash.

Dry fit first, remove, coat with mixed epoxy, let cure, reinstall, lightly sand, coat with Watco, or spar varnish.

Jim