: How about for a strip built boat? Density, bending, splitting, carving. It
: appears to be closely related to mahogany so does it share
: characteristics?

Pros:
It would be pretty, and free of knots.

You could rip the strips wider than 3/4 inch if you wanted., and lose less material to sawdust.

The thickness is very even, so sanding or planing to get the strips to an even thickness is not really needed.

Cons:
Deep sanding might go through the upper layer of veneer.

A real good saw is a must! You want to avoid having the plywood splinter when cut.

If you scarf your plywood panels, and then rip them, you'll get strips that are nearly 16 feet long, and more fragile than cedar strips.

Other:
The grain in the inner core is running at 90 degrees to how most strips would run -- but that may actually be a good thing for strength. It might make the strips more difficult to twist into some shapes, though.

Bead and cove would be a concern. It might work or it might not. If it works, your router will clean up the edges, but might make the edge of the outer veneer so thin that you see the inner core. If bead and cove doesn't work, then it may be difficult to plane a beveled edge on the plywood. You might need a power planer, or a disk or belt sander to do the job.

- - - -

If you use wider strips -- say 2 inches (50 mm) wide -- and you do a minimal amount of sanding you'll get a "multichine" hull instead of a rounded one. This could be faster to build as there would be fewer strips involved -- but each and every strip would need some careful fitting.

Just some thoughts

PGJ