Using a wood other than teak or mahogany?

There is a lot of wood to be replaced on #66, including, but not limited to, coamings and handrails. I've also considered adding a nice rubrail and/or toerail cap and replacing the original fiberglass hatch cover with something bright.

Teak is preferred because it is virtually indestructable in comparison to some woods, but the cost... Mahogany isn't much better.

My thought is that staying close to home may be a better option. White oak is cheap and plentiful, and it should work as well as mahogany. It's not teak, but it is much cheaper (about 1/7th the cost it seems).

Thoughts? Comments?

Just briefly,
There is no way to keep the white oak from getting dark lines and staining. Unless you paint it. Would make an extremely durable painted trim. Local timber like the locusts (honey locust), black acacia, or even alaskan yellow cedar for coaming and trim. This meranti we've talked about here can be gotten in lumber form - I hear it's a bear to work.

There is so little wood on the Ariel, personally I'd stick with the teak or mahogany because they're just moderately hard and forgiving, carbide tipped tools and normal finishing make for a pretty easy job and a satisfying look. There's a range of finishes formulated for them.

Teak has a delicious lingering spicey smell when you work it that is so rewarding it's almost worth the cost. Mahogany has a nice clean sweet smell.

Many of the alternatives are acrid, dusty, or sour, or have no character at all. And the hold on the finish is at best unknown. IMCOEBB. Gazuntite

Walnut holds up well , and is cheap in some areas of the country. A friend built a 65' schooner and trimmed it in Carolina walnut .
I've worked a lot of Philipine mahogany or meranti , and found it fairly easy to work , much easier than teak and a little easier than african mahogany .
I would like to use some paduk , hard to work ,splits and splinters worse than teak but what a color it has .

Hi Brent, I'm new to this list and just want to pitch in my two cents here and there.
You raise a good question when you think of woods for the boat other than teak or
mahoghany. I'm not a teak lover, not on my Commander anyway, but as for handrails
its hard to beat. Teaks properties are well known and you combine this with the fact
that nice finished handrails can be had for about $20.00 each its hard to beat. Locust
would be cool but in the end not as practical. Likewise the 1/2" battens that edge the
cockpit seats(4 @ $8.00 ea.).

The coamings are another story. The cost of teak is prohibitive, about $200.00 a side
plus the forward pieces, that would be pretty tricky to make and again expensive. The
other issue is do you want to finish the coamings clear or paint them? If painting them
is an option you could probably fix the ones you have or use clear Douglas Fir and seal
with epoxy or any of a bunch of woods including plywood. The problem that all this creative
thinking runs up against is that for price and properties Honduran Mahoghany at $4.50
a board ft. is the cheapest suitable wood you'll find. When you consider that clear White
Pine @5/4 X 12" is $5.50 a board ft. Mahoghany looks like a steal. Further, there is no
better looking wood than Mahoghany when finished clear. Teak may last longer when
totally neglected and if moderately cared for, side by side with varnised Mahoghany,
assuming you'd oil the Teak , will be a distant second for looks beacause teak is harder to
keep looking cared for. I'd stick with Mahoghany as a cheap, suitable boat wood. One
caution about working with Mahoghany is that the dust is super fine, rather caustic and will
Cover everything in your shop unless you deal wih the dust issue up front

As for pads and small blocks on the exterior you might consider Starboard. Its strong and
stable, maintenance free and if you chamfer the edges will hold silicone or Sikaflex.
I intend to use Starboard pads under lifeline stanchions to spread the load. I'm gonna
rout a groove in the bottom of the pads around the perimeter of the bolt holes to form a
water tight seal, kind of a U-ring.
Cheers, B.
Commander #215