Weights
Building baidarkas in the Aleutians
Boat weights
A tale of weights
Skin on frame technology is among other things about building light weight boats. We must therefore know what things weigh. So, below, a table of weights. There is no real method to this table other than as I get a chance to weigh things, I will record them here.I have also included some specific gravities of different wood species. Any number in the left hand column without units is a specific gravity. Specific gravity is the weight of a given volume of a substance divided by the weight of an equal volume of water. It is a good way to compare relative weights of different substances, in this case, species of wood. These specific gravities are only good to one and a half decimal points since the scale I used is only good to a quarter pound and total weights I measured were around 5 to 7 pounds.
A table
| 25.5 lbs | Green Doug Fir two by four. 1.5" x 3.5" x 16' |
| 11.5 lbs | Green Doug Fir Gunwales. 1.5" x 0.75" x 16' |
| 2 lbs | Two vinyl float bags. Essential items for a skin on frame boats. |
| 2 lbs | The weight of the water that remains in your boat after you have paddled. This weight is slightly higher in a canvas covered boat since canvas attracts and holds more water than synthetic skins. |
| 2 lbs | Wooden paddle. They can be lighter as well, but two pounds is a good round figure if you're trying to add up the overall weight of your outfit. And if you carry a spare paddle, add another two pounds. |
| 36 lbs | Greenland boat with 3.5" x .75" x 16' red cedar gunwales. 21" beam, pine deck beams. Oak ribs with 8 inch spacing, pine keelson and stringers. 12 oz basket weave nylon skin. Two coats urethane varnish. |
| 35 lbs | Greenland boat with 2" x .75" x 16' pine gunwales. 19" beam, pine deck beams. Oak ribs with 6 inch spacing, pine keelson and stringers. 15 oz nylon skin. Two coats urethane varnish. |
| 42 lbs | Greenland boat with 3.5" x .75" x 16' pine gunwales. 21" beam, pine deck beams. Elm ribs with 8 inch spacing, pine keelson and stringers. Polypropylene skin. 4 coats urethane varnish. |
| 59 lbs | Skin on frame version of Ojibway canoe. 16 foot Pine gunwales. 36" beam. 3 doug fir thwarts. Yellow cedar ribs spaced 6" on center. 12 Stringers, 3/8" square and six 1/4" x 1-1/2 floor boards roughly 12' long. 15 oz nylon skin. Two coats of varnish. |
| 33.5 lbs | Baidarka, 14' length, 21" beam. 12 oz nylon skin. |
| 24 lbs | 10 foot playboat, 24 inch beam. |
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Specific Gravities |
| 0.34 | Redwood |
| 0.51 | hard pine |
| 0.54 | An evergreen species sold at Home Depot as "white wood" |
| 0.70 | Green Douglas fir, green in this case meaning lumber that hasn't been kiln dried and still has significant water content. |