bamboo swim ladder

[paul anderson]

One of the builders on this site has made a ladder out of bamboo,I have made one out of hardwood and frankly it is too heavy regardless how much I shave it down although it is undeniably strong.I feel that I am putting too much weight on the ass of the boat and need to look at some alternatives.I like the look of the bamboo once sealed properly with epoxy and varnish it can be a thing of beauty another option is aluminium although I prefer the bamboo option,although the actual construction of it is not quite clear yet.

AS always any thoughts would be welcome.

cheers paul.

[Glenn Tieman]

the bamboo i used for the crab claw spars was, as kim says, moso imported from china. i ripped each open and removed the diaphrams. otherwise as it dries the diaphrams will block shrinking radially causing certain splitting. also cleaned out the insides with plastic wire wheels then epoxied then glued back together then glassed outside using sleeve fiberglass. lot of work but they are still good ten years later. otherwise bamboo i've used lasts about two years. especially bambusa  vulgaris which is the most common worldwide and also the most attractive to bugs being rich in starch and sugar. i found that by harvesting culms that had died recently but still standing they would last longer, being lower in starch and also stronger, woodier.

[steve martland]

watch out for the lyctus borer beetle in queensland   I had a piece of bamboo as a 'flower pot '    the buggers chewed it up in no time