Yet another ‘Ubiquitous Solution’ from the mind of

Tom Lewis, Richmond, Virginia

Last month’s piece on bamboo spars and masts reminded me of my own experiences with this amazing plant. BAM!!!BOO! The name comes from the sound bamboo makes when you burn it as the air chambers explode.

We use it quite a lot.  A nice tarp sail and spars recently made by one of our locals. Notice the PVC clips that hold the tarp to the spars, and the elegant taper of the mast.

To most gardeners, bamboo is the spawn of Satan because it is so invasive. Once established, it takes a back hoe to remove it. Consequently, it is fairly easy to get permission to cut if you find a mature stand somewhere. To find a stand - drive around and look, ask people.

It grows almost everywhere, but the species can be important for the canoe sailor. The species most desired for spars and masts seems to be Japanese timber bamboo, but most varieties will yield some degree of success. You are looking for canes with as thick walls as possible.

To learn more about the different species of the plant itself, I suggest going to the American Bamboo Society web site: www.americanbamboo.org.

When and what to cut: You want a mature cane – 2 years old or better. I have read that the best cutting is done on a full moon, but it seems to make little difference if you cut a mature cane. Hacksaw, or folding saw work fine. (I find a Japanese-type pull saw works best for me. Ed.)

Initial preparation is to rough trim the cane of its branches and leaves – garden pruning shears will do the job quickly. For final finishing, the sure-form tools which act like a cheese grater work well.

I usually let the canes dry for 30 days or so in a vertical position. If you cut 15 or 20 canes, you can bundle them and prop them vertically against a tree or building in a shady location rotating the bundle every 7 or so days. Drying them horizontally will almost always result in uneven drying and thus splitting on the dryer side of the cane. It is also a good idea to store finished spars and masts vertically as well.

Although not a requirement, if you really want to maximize the strength and longevity of the bamboo heat treating it will make a big difference. By evenly heating the bamboo with a propane torch or hot charcoal until the surface gets shiny and waxy , you not only drive excess water out of the cane, you also lock the bamboo fibers together more tightly. I usually rub beeswax over the “toasted surface” to help seal the cane against future moisture. For shorter pieces coating the bamboo with varnish or paint helps. For spars and masts, the coatings seem to accelerate cracking,

Not being too much of a purist, I have no problem supplementing the bamboo with other materials if it solves the problem.. An example of this is a recently completed lee board mount.

A heat treated piece of bamboo with 2 pieces of PVC to act as the bearings for the lee boards – allowing them to pivot up or down. 

The PVC is heated until it is slightly soft, epoxy smeared on the bamboo and then the PVC is jammed onto the end before it cools producing a very strong cylindrical laminate.

The leeboards have reinforced attachment holes made from 4 inches of ABS natural gas pipe which happens to friction fit perfectly with the PVC pipe on the cross bar.

 You can either just lash the bamboo crossbar to a thwart, or use u-bolts and clamp it to the gunwhales if you want to position the lee boards forward or aft.

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