Re: White Oak is the best for stringers, Right
It's funny, not one of the wooden boat builders/restorers that I've ever worked for or with has boiled their White oak, UNLESS it was being steam bent.
I'd be interested in seeing a reference to the reasoning behind it somewhere- I've certainly never heard of it. White oak has been used for centuries as a boatbuilding wood without any 'treatment', such as boiling... Seems like an unnecessary step to me. If you are bending the frames, of course you've got to boil (or, steam) the wood for flexibility. All the framing, knees, and deck beams in my neighbors Alden 309 are sawn white oak, and going on 85 yrs old. Sure, there's been rot here and there, but that's to be expected in a wood boat over time.
In my wood working I Steam bend White Oak frequently using Schedule 80 PVC, a NEW (EMPHASIS ON NEW!!!!) 5 Gallon Military Style Metal Gas can that NEVER had anything but water in it and a gas burner to boil the water. Put a heater hose on the the spout of the can and attach it to the length of pvc. (Have done up to 20 ft) cap off the ends (With a few vent holes and within 15 minutes it is Steamin HOT. Less than $50.00 bucks and you can have an OAK BOILER!!!
