I built a strip planked cedar racing dinghy a couple of years ago. I'm thinking about building another one this coming winter but the price of profiled cedar strip supplied by one of the main marine timber merchants here in the UK has practically doubled!

I was therefore wondering whether it would be possible to use balsa instead of cedar as the core material? I'd be interested to hear from anyone who may have tried this. If it is a realistic possibility, I'd be particularly keen to find out what balsa thickness/glass specification might give me similar properties to 6 oz glass cloth on 1/4 inch cedar strip.

Thanks

Marcus