Nils,

I hate to admit this in public, but my second boat was constructed stitch-and-glue style, from Luan door skins. Cost about $30 for all the wood used. It was my own design, and I used door skins to sort of test the concept, thinking that if it worked, I would build one from marine grade plywood. Well, the luan worked so well, and looked so good, that I ended up spending a little extra time on it, and it stands as is. Only time will tell if it will last.

You may have a problem with the oak being so open-grained. I know that red oak boards are like a straw - you can blow through them, end-to-end. I not sure this would be a problem with oak plywood. Why not stick with Luan. It's less than $10 per 4' X 8' sheet at Eagle Hardware.

One way to look at it is that with a layer of 6 oz. glass on both sides, you end up with five-ply, 5/32" plywood, with the highest modulus layers on the outside, as it should be.

I am currently re-decking my first, strip kayak with Luan/Mahogany. I bought it at Eagle and it is labeled as Mahogany, and it definitely looks different than Luan. It's nearly as light-colored as Birch. Has a beautiful grain. I wonder what it really is?

Interstingly, Home Depot no longer sells Luan, or so they say. Save the rain forests, you know. Of course they don't mention that a lot of other hardwood plywoods have Luan inner layers.