If you have a place to keep the boat indoors when not in use then painted
lauan will last quite a while, the 10 years mentioned earlier is
resonable, depending on how roughly the boat is used. I have a laun
underlayment boat in its 4th season which is as good as new. I hang
it on the garage wall when not in use. For photos see
www.ncf.ca/~ag384/DogSkiff.htm.

I'm never sure when people mention 1/4" lauan what they mean. All we have
in Ottawa is the lauan underlayment, a low quality product with a thick
inner ply and two thin face plys. Its close to 1/4" but is actually metric
(5.22 mm?) and closer to 1/5". Its what the boat I have is made of. If you
find a regular 3 or 5 ply lauan plywood it would likely be better. I've
also read in this newsgroup of a better quality lauan plywood called
meranti available in some parts of the USA. The 1/5" underlayment that
I've used weighs about the same as the okume marine of similar thickness,
half a pound a square foot, or 17 pounds for a 4 x8 sheet.


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