I got a very good deal on enough marine plywood for the bottom, cabin and forward bulkeds and deck that I can't believe it and after checking on price for 3/8' and 1/4" for the lazarette, transom, cabin roof and sides, hull sides and seats wanted to :'( so I looked at louon.
  Everything on the outside will be fiberglassed and was wondering if anyone has had luck using louon in these areas ? I'm starting the keel this weekend and have ordered a 10' x 20' enclosed portable shelter being delivered next week so everything will be high and dry from start to finish ???.
  Thanks for your help.
         Alan & Franny
Ahoy and Welcome Alan and Franny to the BYYB. If you have any kind of questions someone here should have the answers for you, as we have all built to some degree.
As far as Luan, I dont think I would do it, we had a member use it to build a mini cup, with disastarous results.
Now I do know he did not glass it so maybe that was the issue.
Someone here should know better than I.
Good to meet you folks. Good luck with your build.
Brian Walters.
A while back I was reading through old posts and saw someone selling an older weekender. He said in the post that it was built of luan. Here is a quote from the post:
"The hull was made of Home Depot luan covered in Raka cloth and epoxy, which seemed to work very well".
The name of the boat was "Fandango" and the builders name was Adam Plourde, the post was dated May 4, 2006.
So can luan be used for the hull or not? Is this one of those things that the Stevenson's say everyone has an opinion on or has luan been found to be unacceptable for hull construction? I'm not trying to be a hack here, but man, if I could avoid putting up my house, kids, and cats to buy the wood for this thing it would sure be nice.
I understand that there is a point of diminishing returns but the reason I am building this boat is to have a great experience with my kids and have fun doing it. It would be hard for me to realize this goal if I have to write a check for a couple of thousand dollars for primo plywood.
I think that like in most things in life, there are a variety of sensibilities in a given group of people. Some of us are interested in building something of superior quality, finish, and don't mind the cost if what we end up with is a finished product that will stand the test of time. Then there are others among us who are looking to build something as quickly and affordibly as possible, as long as it is safe, looks good, and will last for a reasonable number of years then the particulars of construction materials can vary somewhat. And there are a whole bunch of us somewhere in the middle.
Does any of this make sense or am I just confusing the issue? :-\
I'm not the epoxy expert, but it would seem to me that if one used penetrating epoxy on the inner surface and epoxy-glassed the outer, the wood would likely be ok. I look forward to hearing comments from those more experienced in this.
Mike
The problem with luan from the big box stores is that is mostly crap. Internal voids, low number of plys, differing species on interior plys, questionable glues are all issues with this product. In my view and given the amount of effort that it takes to build a hull and outfit a sailboat it does not pay to economize on the wood of the hull. This is especially true if you will be using epoxy and doing an encapsulation. The luan will require that you also glass everything to prevent checking. though some hard liners say that you should glass everyting in sight even if using BS1088. The quality of ply has also dropped in recent years meaning that even if it were OK 10 years ago it may not be so today. Few topics will generate more discord than this sort of question. There will be always be a difference of opinion between the folks that want to squeeze any dollar possible out of the boat budget and the folks that want top of the line materials for everything. I tend twords the top-o-line end of the scale. Its all about the boat YOU want to build. Â
Chris, I understand what you are saying and I can see where in a project of this nature it would be a shame to go to all of the trouble of building the boat only to have it fall apart.
Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only person out here who is concerned with the bottom line. Like in everything else there has to be a "Best", a "Better", a "Good", and a just plain unacceptable. I would love to be in the "Best" range but unfortunately for me finances pretty much dictate that I shoot for somewhere in the "Good" to "Better" range.
Perhaps you are correct though in that using today's luan for the hull is too far on the "unacceptable" side of the scale. I wouldn't know since I am far from an expert woodworker.
Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.
David, Listen to what you said. I want to have a great experience with my kids!!!! So for their sake, NO LUAN. Use it somewhere above the hull if you have to but use decent grade ply down below. Warren
  Warren what you said makes sence to me and I can get all kinds of 1/2" marine plywood from a friend at Sabre Yachts. Does anyone know if 1'2" is bendable enough for the hull side panels, deck and transom making these areas all marine plywood, I'd only have to increase the outside deck dimension by a 1'4" per side, very doable ?
Alan & Franny
Pretty cumbersome I would think, plus added weight. Is 1/4 in that much?
Alan: 1/2" is great for the bottom and bulkheads For
hull sides and the cabin trunk, 1/4" is needed to take the curve properly. You'll have a real hard time bending the 1/2" stuff in those apps.
Dave