Gunwales material choice

Hello all,

My Sassafras 14 build is coming along nicely and I'm now to the point of purchasing my gunwales/inwales ....... just wondering what everyones preference is in this regard,

I've kinda narrowed it down to either Ash or Cedar - what would your preference be ?

Many thanks & kind regards, Tony

Methinks ash is gonna be more durable, being harder (baseball bats after all) than any of the cedars.

Depending on where you are, it may be a matter of what is available. CLC rails in my kits have been mahogany, and I like it. I have bad associations with cedar rails. Ages ago I was paddling an old weathered cedar and canvas canoe. I was lazy and let my throat hand slide along the gunwale. My thumbnail scraped up a long splinter off the cedar and jammed it under my thumbnail. Agony, and almost worse getting it all out. No cedar rails for me.