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Gondola Woods and main materials for the composition of a gondola

The gondola is considerate the most beautiful boat in the world for its elegant and winding and the uniqueness of its construction. Its length is 10.85 me the average width of 1.40 m with a weight of about 350 kg. Its asymmetrical shape, is created specifically to allow the gondolier to row with less effort. Can be carried out by one or four  man (standing and facing the bow) with a single oar each. For its construction were used 8 different types of woods and 280 are the parts that make it up. Before starting the actual construction of a gondola is necessary to choose the timber that will be used. It uses 8 types of woods: oak, pine, elm, cherry, larch, walnut, basswood and mahogany. After choosing the timber, which must not have defects, we proceed to the seasoning that lasts about a year. The actual construction and can take several months and involve about 500 hours.

GONDOLA WOODS USED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A GONDOLA

The rovere (Oak), is used to realize the structure of the boat, in particular for the hips, given its high resistance, it is easily bendable. The Olmo, that is very hard but also extremely elastic composes the ribs the internal part of the gondola. The Cherry Tree (Ciliegio) wood is hard and compact, but also malleable and therefore suitable for the construction of inlays and decorations. The Mahogany (Il Mogano) usually with few veins, is used for the stern (poppa), the bow (prua) and on deck (sopra coperta). This wood is very spongy chosen because it prevents the formation of cracks and is resistant to termites and rust. The The Abete is extremely resistant to water for this is used for the submerged part as well as the Larch (Larice) that being rich in resin defends the boat by umonity. But wood is not only used to achieve the real structure of the gondola, but also two important components: the crutch (La forcola) and the oars. While the structure of the gondola is made in the squero, these components are manufactured by skilled specialists called “remeri” in their workshops. The forcola is made with walnut wood,while the oars must be beech wood.