wrote:
I do sorta have a site about building them at:

http://home.mindspring.com/~ohara5.0/

Dan Krueger wrote:
Nice work! I'm not very interested in sailing but, given the time, I
would love to build one.


Sailing is a lot of fun. You have to be willing to learn... in fact, to
me that's one of the attractions, there are always new skills to learn.


The "bathroom underlayment" you refer to is probably lauan plywood. This
can be mahogany or any other similar rain forest species. They are not
supposed to allow large voids since a woman wearing high heels can poke
a hole right though it.

Yeah, but sometimes the filler is something like glue & sawdust.

... Over the years prices have turned 5.2mm lauan
into a commodity and quality has suffered. Now many home builders are
using other, non-wood, products that are more reliable. While stiffer,
1/4" marine plywood or BCX (x for exterior glue) is probably a better bet.

I built a dinghy out of luan back when it was cheap ($7 sheet at Home
Depot). I coated it with epoxy (probably not a wise move fiscally, but I
already had the epoxy laying around) but it still rotted out in two
years. The rot started in an odd way, dime sized soft spots turned into
little pockmarks then started turning to mulch.

For a cheap boat, go cheap all the way and throw it away with no regrets
when it starts to fall apart. For a boat that is strong & lasts well,
use the good stuff. Plywood for the hull will only be a small fraction
of the overall expense anyway.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King