Hey Steve,
There should be other Luan doorskin builders that may have more info./experience with these kinds of voids than I, in fact I have yet to find any voids in this type of cheap plywood, but I am very selective when it comes to choosing good sheets. I use the darkest purple sheets easily selected out of the huge pile of white colored (cheap looking) Luan for S&G hybrid models. For your girls' boat, I would agree with you on drilling a few holes into the void and filling it with slightly thickened epoxy. A disposible syringe (no needle) will do this task very easily. I would also recommend fiberglass inside and out. Another thing to be forwarned about is how much easier it is to break edges/corners when you start to wire up the bow and stern. At least on small models, it seems to break much easier than Okoume. But glassed inside and out, it should be a perfect material for a kids kayak. I also agree with you to get quality marine ply for your boat. When it's all said and done, the extra $80 or even $100 more cost for Okoume is money well spent. I'll continue to use marine plywood for full sized, adult kayaks and Luan doorskins for my kids' boats and craft projects. The purple Luan I mentioned, in some cases, is more beautiful than the expensive stuff. I'd try to keep it natural, if possible, but if it turns out so-so or worse, just paint it. One thing to remember is that the plywood is just acting as a core material, most of the strength comes from the glass and epoxy. Fill the voids and you should be good to go. Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Chris K. or CLC ever did enough proper testing (with glass inside/out) to justify their belief that Luan should not be used. I think they just wanted to sell you the "good stuff". Just my thoughts on the subject, I'm sure there's more.
SMF

: Well, I cut my first panel last night from the luaan doorskins and guess what
: - Voids. Boy, I tried the see through light and checked the edges, but
: right in the middle of the panels - gaps. It was just like Chris K.
: reached out of his book and said 'I told you so'.

: This really isn't all that bad since I decided it was worth $10 and some time
: to acutally go through the process once with some cheap wood before
: cutting the panels for my first boat. It worked, you guys do a great job
: on this board but it takes alot of words to describe what you learn in a
: few minutes of action.

: Anyway, the current panels were for a scaled down Squeedunk Grebe for my
: daughters to play in. It really is only in one spot towards the middle of
: the bottom panel about 1/2" wide. I think they can still be made
: useful and was just wondering if any of you doorskin users has a technique
: for strengthening voids. I thought about drilling holes along the inside
: and filling it with glue/epoxy and then gluing a thin verneer over the
: gap. Either way it looks like I need to find some marine plywood for mine.

: Thanks,
: Steve