Pine as cabin sole

[zachduckworth]

Hi all,

I was reading up on the USS Constitution and found out that the decks were made from Southern US pitch pine, a kind of yellow pine. It was also stained very dark. I feel like this is not a very popular look/wood in boats today, although with a white overhead and adequate light it can look sort of stately. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a modern boat with a pine interior plank sole? Just curious. I know it’s pretty soft, but also easy to work with. It was also very plentiful. So maybe I’d be answering my own question if I asked why they used it for planks on active duty warships.

[Sailmonkey]

I would guess it was used because it was cheap and plentiful.

[Bill O]

You are in CA. correct? How about red wood? Very rot resistant.

If you were on the east coast, would suggest an indigenous species like white oak. When I did our cabin sole and made the white stripes out of white oak it was cheap. A 16'x 6"x 5/4 was $10.50 per board. It has gone up and maybe $19 now.

[ItDepends]

redwood would be a pretty poor choice. It is SOFT. Really southern yellow pine is classified as a "softwood" but in reality it is very hard.

It might depend on the boat, and the look you wanted. Pine floors in houses (I have had them) are "rustic" because they accumulate dents and bumps. Not exactly a "yachty" look.

For an interior wood, there is no real need for rot resistance, but the wood should be HARD if you want the floor to be flat and shiny and good looking. Cherry, Oak, Teak, all good. Mahogany is marginal, its a bit soft. In light colored woods, ash would be excellent, as would hickory. In VERY light colored woods, holly is exceptional, but probably out of any reasonable budget.