Military Marine Wood Usage — Marine Laminating

Marine laminating is an exact technical art born of World War II shipbuilding needs for large, high quality structural timbers. It is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the requirements for shipbuilding timbers from domestic, old growth trees. Despite promising developments in structural aluminum and molded plastic boat hulls, wood remains our only naturally renewable structural material. Sawn timber products used in naval construction include utility lumber, structural timber, and special boat and shipbuilding lumber. Principal woods used by the Navy are Douglas-fir, southern pine, and white oak. Because the timbers of tremendous size cut from old growth trees are not always available in the quantities and grades required from eastern and southern forests, the shipwright’s choice for material has shifted to suitable species of large size in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and tropical America. White oak is important in many types of wood hull vessels; the total white oak requirements for the present wood ship building program are estimated at 30 million board feet, approximately one-sixth of the 1950 production of No. 1 Common and Better. Marine laminating uses the basic principles of laminating for interior structural beams, but requires a resin adhesive that can be cured at a temperature below the boiling point of water and be durable under extreme service exposure at sea. Military specifications closely control the adhesives and techniques used in laminating.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member