Anyone mill old submerged logs?

[swampu]

My pile driver was driving pilings for my dock and boat house last week and ran into a large submerged pine log from back in the day. As some of you know I'm rebuilding after a fire gutted my boat so I'm debating on using the log for flooring. Has anyone used pickled timber for a floor and has experience drying and milling the timber. Thanks Paul

 

[SomeSailor]

Fresh or salt?

The salt in driftwood is tough on tooling, but when you figure in the value of the free wood you're usually still ahead.

 

[swampu]

brackish. More fresh I guess, it was buried in 5' of mud.

 

[SomeSailor]

It'd make a nice conversation piece if nothing else. Would that one log have enough in it to do your whole floor?

 

[Steve]

I have never worked it but if you search for "sinker pine logs" you'll find all sorts of information it
Steve W

 

[Northern Spy]

I don't have any direct experience. I did consider working for a company that does it successfully. Triton Logging. I know that some of the issues they had was that if the tree was exposed to air during lake level fluctuations there was generally a lot of rot. The wood takes forever to dry. If kiln dried or microwave dried, the pine would tend to check and warp.

I have found pieces of boats (teak, mahogany) in the water that I have salvaged and ran through the planer for fun.

Go for it. What the heck. Just a little time and a little money.

 

[Edelweiss]

My pile driver was driving pilings for my dock and boat house last week and ran into a large submerged pine log from back in the day. As some of you know I'm rebuilding after a fire gutted my boat so I'm debating on using the log for flooring. Has anyone used pickled timber for a floor and has experience drying and milling the timber. Thanks Paul

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Before you do anything with it, check with your State and find out what the laws are regarding salvaging logs. In Washington, they are sticklers on salvage of wood in lakes and rivers. If you remember the recent reality TV show about logging, where the father and son were using a small boat to harvest logs from the river systems in Grays Harbor area of Southwest Washington. They got in trouble with Department of Natural Resources and had to leave the State.

LB

 

[BruceK]

Logs which have been submerged,such as from damming a river, are a common source of rare Huon pine, a very highly regarded boat building timber found in Tasmania (state) Australia, which can no longer be felled.
I guess it depends on the specific tree variety. Huon pine is also good for furniture, a pale timber with unusual "birds eye" features, I saw it used for a tabletop on a newly built timber cruiser at a recent wooden boat show.

 

[Stray-Cat]

I remember learning about this stuff watching a discovery channel series called Axe men

Anyone here remember the pro's at S & S Aqua logging

I always got a good laugh

Some info here
Underwater Loggers Sunk By Law Enforcement » News » OPB

 

[Edelweiss]

Oh yeah!!
That is the show. Those two weren't from in the deep end of the gene pool!! That's for sure.
Larry B

 

[charles]

sinker logs

Here in Patterson, La logs are retreived and milled all the time, NO permit required.
I have seen a lot of very fine finished wood from such logs, here cypress.
CCC

 

[rwidman]

How long are you willing to wait for the wood to dry out?

 

[swampu]

It's been three years and I am still in the bilge working on the all the mechanical systems. I've probably got another 3 years.

 

[rwidman]

Well, it appears you have plenty of time, but you'll probably get more and better information on a woodworking forum than on a boating forum. Or just do a web search on the subject.