Noel Schutt » bamboo http://schutt.org/blog Mon, 14 May 2012 17:09:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Bamboo canoe http://schutt.org/blog/2008/04/bamboo-canoe/ http://schutt.org/blog/2008/04/bamboo-canoe/#comments Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:20:05 +0000 Noel http://schutt.org/blog/2008/04/bamboo-canoe/ Last night I received a link to a story about a canoe built of recycled chopsticks. This is an interesting idea, but I wonder about the durability. Granted, that isn’t the point of a project like this, but I like paddling canoes, not just looking at them. It seems that all the extra joints are extra potential failure points. But, this project does raise the idea of building a canoe from larger bamboo sections. I looked up the density of bamboo, and it is comparable to cedar. From the Forest Products Labratory:

Although bamboo is a grass, its hardness, strength, and dimensional stability make it a useful building material. Large species of bamboo, which mature in 3 years, regenerate without being replanted, and require no fertilizer or pest control, have been used in construction projects for thousands of years. . . . At least eight companies now import the material, claiming hardness and dimensional stability properties that compare favorably with those of red oak and other common hardwoods.

It should be possible to build a classic cedar strip style canoe using bamboo. Cost difference shouldn’t really matter in a project like this, because the major investment is time.

A bamboo canoe would make a great addition to a bamboo bike.

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