> Have read about pro and cons of Luan (or Luaun or however it is spelled)
> and was wondering if anyone has used it to build stitch and glue kayak out
> of it. I have used it to build 14' foot skiff, and had no problems with
> it, but was wondering if use for CLC West River or Cheasapeake would be a
> problem. My main concern would be if thicker plywood would cause problems
> with construction of the boat. Any comments welcome.

I built my first CLC Cape Charles 18 using 1/4 luan, mainly because I didn't know otherwise. My specs called for 4mm okume, but at the time, I had no idea where to find that.

The luam did not seem to impede the construction. The hard chine Cape Charles does not require radical bending like the round bottom boats do - don't know if I'd want to build a round-bottom from it because of the extreme bending required. I had a few problems with wires pulling out, but that almost certainly resulted from trying to close seam gaps that were bigger than they should have been.

My boat is probably heavier than a comparable 4mm okume boat. I haven't weighed it, but it just makes sense because the 1/4" plywood is about 50% thicker than the 4mm specified in the book. Also, like others who responded, I tended to overbuild, or at least favor strength over weight savings. Still, it's not significantly heavier than my friend's 17' plastic Dagger.

I am building a second boat and am using okume this time - I've learned a few things, and have found a source for buying it locally. More importantly, as my skills improve and my confidence grows, I can foresee venturing further and asking more of my second boat than I did of the first. Okume cost is about 4-5 times that of luan, but it just doesn't add enough extra cost to justify the risk of catastrophic failure. Good luck.