Shipwreck booty

[michael]

As you may have seen on the news, there is loads of timber washed up on the south coast following the sinking of a cargo ship off the Dorset coast (I think?). This washed up timber now runs from Hove in West Sussex right round to Hastings in East Sussex. Tons of the stuff.

They have been saying on our local news that it is illegal to take this wood from the beach as it is subject to a salvage operation but despite this, I have seen dozens of builders vans at my local beach blatantly loading up with the stuff. Good lengths of brand new 4x2 and 6x2 pine and despite being a busy town, there wasn’t a policeman in sight.

They also advised on the news that this timber would now be inferior and could probably only be used for garden fences due to its saturation with salt water. Is this true or is this just a ploy to put people off taking it? It looks perfectly good to me and I could probably use some in my home, if I was that way inclined???

 

[Penners]

I suppose it depends what the timber is. If it's decent quality Baltic/Scandinavian pine, then after a respectable period of being stacked "in stick", to ensure air circulation around it while it dries out, I should imagine it would be perfectly good. Particularly if it has still to be planed, as this would take off any remaining surface salt.

I'm not sure what the law says about salvaged material like this, but I have a hunch that, if you remove any, you are obliged to report this to the authorities. The owners then (I think) have the right to come and reclaim it, provided they pay you some sort of compensation.

But that may be way off target.

 

[michael]

Not sure what type of pine. I would need to research this unless somebody out there already knows the answer. One things for sure, the beached timber is already planed so I guess this is not in its favour.

 

[skier-hughes]

They have been saying on our local news that it is illegal to take this wood from the beach as it is subject to a salvage operation

This is true, but for the small amounts a few builders can pinch it probably isn't worth the salavage company trying to stop them taking it.

Though I wouldn't be stupid enough to show myself on national tv taking it :roll:

 

[chuckey]

It has been postulated that the sound of a Stradivarius(SP.?) violin is due to the wooden logs having been floated in from the sea and hence saturated with salt water. They seem to take French (Italian?) polish quite well?
Personally I wold hose the wood off with fresh water to rid the surface of salt deposits .
Frank

 

[Penners]

Floating logs downriver to the sawmills is still widely practiced in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Russia and North America. It's a very efficient, carbon-free way of forwarding the logs from forest to mill.

But bear in mind that this takes place before the timber is kiln-dried, prior to being converted into board. The newly-felled timber is still sufficiently wet that it takes up very little water from the river.

 

[Flyfisher]

Would the shipwrecked wood be likely to have been pressure treated or would that typically be done after delivery? Or maybe it wouldn't make any difference to a salt water soaking anyway.

I think Penners is right about rights. I saw a report about that container ship last year where people were being allowed, by the police, to take stuff away, including those now famous BMW motorbikes, providing they filled in the appropriate paperwork. I'm not sure how long the 'rightful owner' has to claim them back though.

 

[Aidan]

I think Penners is right about rights. I saw a report about that container ship last year where people were being allowed, by the police, to take stuff away, including those now famous BMW motorbikes, providing they filled in the appropriate paperwork. I'm not sure how long the 'rightful owner' has to claim them back though.

They had toreort what they'd taken to the Receiver of Wrecks. They were allowed to keep the stuff, I think. I'd thought the wood was flotsam and was finders keepers; not impressed or convinced by the council claiming ownership.

Info here;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6287047.stm

 

[skier-hughes]

Once salvage is taking place the goods belong to the salvage company, in this case it is the owners of the ship.
The BMW motor bikes were not subject to salvage rights at the time, so could be taken with the neccessary form filling. Different situation.
The council haven't claimed any rights to the wood, as far as I've heard.

 

[Penners]

Would the shipwrecked wood be likely to have been pressure treated or would that typically be done after delivery? Or maybe it wouldn't make any difference to a salt water soaking anyway.

It's tempting to think that, because this wood has been dumped into the sea, it's probably ruined.

Actually, that's unlikely to be the case. A few days bobbing about in the water shouldn't have done too much damage, so long as it's decently dried off, properly stacked with sticks in between to allow air to circulate and to prevent warping. The only question mark is how much salt it will have absorbed, or will remain on the surface.

 

[michael]

The beached timber is not pressure treated, just planed.
If the timber is impregnated with sea salt, how dose this affect the wood and what problems would this cause if it were used as a building material?

 

[michael]

P.S. I thought salt was a preservative?

 

[Penners]

I'm not sure whether salt would act as a preservative on timber or not. But I was more concerned about its effect on whatever finish was later put on the timber. I suspect it might not help to ensure a durable finish.

But I'm speculating.

 

[worms]

I thought that much of the timber coming into the country used to be seasoned in salt water in places like the timber ponds at Port Glasgow? I'm not sure if this practice was different, in that the timber would still be relatively fresh, whereas the stuff off the recent ship will have previously been dried. However, it may be that a lot of the good quality wood that we all try to protect in our houses has spent some time in the sea!

http://www.portglasgow4u.co.uk/townshistory/coat_of_arms.html:

"...Atlantic crossings made from Quebec to Port Glasgow importing the North American timber. In 1825 this amounted to 19000 tons and had risen to nearly 28000 tons by 1834. The timber was unloaded at the mid harbour and they were then chained together with rafters and floated to one of the suitable timber ponds. These ponds stretched for Finlaystone down river to the east end of Greenock and also the Gareloch."

 

[middi]

I would have prefered a shipwrecked boatload of salami.

A load of planked oak could also have tempted me to go there with the work van.