High quality Sitka Spruce

MT

I'm looking to source some high quality sitka spruce to make spars for a sailing boat. Is the sitka grown in Ireland up to much or would it have to be imported from Alaska? Apparently the stuff grown there - where the trees originate - was light enough and strong enough for use in aircraft manufacture prior to the use of aluminium. It's this aircraft grade quality sitka that I'd be after.

If the stuff in Ireland isn't much use does anyone know of a timber supplier that imports Alaskan Sitka?

Alun

AFAIK the main difference between coniferous timbers grown here, and in colder climates such as North America or Scandinavia, is that here they grow much more quickly. The main forestry tree here in Wicklow is Sitka Spruce as it happens, and they do indeed grow nice and long and straight in the main, so I can see they might be useful for your application. However if you view the cut ends of larger trees lying around after they've been felled, you'll certainly notice the large distances between the growth rings. Now, I don't know whether this translates into a good thing or a bad thing for use in sailing boats to be honest.

Why not contact Coillte ?

http://www.coillte.ie/timbermicro/timbersales.html

MT

Alun, that seems to be the problem with sitka grown in our climate - ironically the climate is too good (that isn't often said about Ireland). Also, up here in NI the Forestry Service fertilise all their plantations intensively which makes the stuff grow even faster still!

The more rigid the spar the better and so the growth rings need to be very close together - hence the need for a cold climate. The trees also need to be allowed to grow to a substantial width so that any planks are well clear of knots. So I'd probably need to be after stuff from Alaska or Scandinavia, if they grow any Sitka there. The problem with Alaska is that Theodore Roosevelt designated the forest containing most of the sitka spruce a national park so it's very difficult to acquire - trees can't be felled for commercial milling, instead only when a strip of forest is being cleared for a road, etc.

My best hope may be if it's grown commercially in Scandinavia. Either way, if it is imported into Ireland it's probably going to be quite expensive.:(

MT

Isn't Coillte the south's equivalent of the Forest Service up here?

Torq

Hi,
here's a link to a dutch supplier who specialises in sitka spruce for masts and spars.
[URL=]http://www.sitkaspruce.nl/[/URL]

Keep well,
Torq