Opening Day crew races through the Montlake Cut, and the 1936 USA Olympic gold in rowing may never have happened without these following trees:

1)  Thuja plicata        Western Red Cedar

• UW’s world-renowned boat maker, George Pocock followed the lead of Native Americans and used this Pacific Northwest giant for the hulls of his Pocock Classics.
• The skin is made from a single plank of 3/32″ thick cedar and offers a combination of stiffness and springiness that eliminates the need for the extra weight of a hull.

2)  Pinus lambertiana        Sugar Pine

• Keels of Pocock’s boats were made from this soft, even-grained Oregon native.
• Sugar pine has very low shrinkage when it dries, so hull warping and cracking was kept to a minimum with this choice wood.

3)  Xanthocyparis nootkatensis        Alaska Yellow Cedar

• Cheeks (two lowest timbers at the head rails) and washboards (thin planks fastened to the side to keep out water) were made from this honey-colored wood.
• Pocock was especially fond of the way Xanthocyparis aged with Thuja plicata.

4)  Picea sitchensis       Sitka Spruce

• Hand-carved seats and gunnels (uppermost plank in a hull) were made from these giants from Vancouver, BC.

5)  Picea engelmannii        Engelman Spruce

• Oars used in rowing competitions are made from Engelman Spruce.
• The oar consists of three bonded pieces made from one single plank of Engelman spruce split to make mirror-imaged sides, and another piece is cut for the center.

Resources:  http://www.pocockclassic.org, http://shipwrightjournal.blogspot.com