I recently finished a "Yare" out of 1/8" lauan. I left it with an all natural wood finsh and it is quite nice looking. The lauan on the sides does have a few black streaks in it. I beleive they are from meldew before the veneer layers were cut at the mill. I think they add intrest to the finish. I sorted through a whole newly delivered stack oy plywood at HomeBase to find the best pieces. Even the inside has a nice plain light colored wood finish.

I doubled taped the seam (only one seam on a Yare) on both sides and put one layer of 2 oz glass on the outside (deck included). Finished weight is 35 pounds.

I paid only $7.48 a sheet for the plywood and I am quite satisfied with the final results. I would not advise lauan on a Yare unless you can get some good sheets with no voids in the center ply. The tortured plywood sides will kink or break at the interior voids. I was lucky with my good find of better than normal quality lauan with no interior voids and no cracks in the back-side ply.