Way out there.

ok i have a 14 ft starcraft which i have been doing some work on here and there rewired and painted the trailer cleaned up the boat and repainted so now im going to do something i hope works because i havent found anyone yet and cant seem to find anything on line so i came to the experts. Has anyone used 1/4" Luan as decking on their boat? I dont want to put carpet in i just want it to be different. I know the spar urethane would protect it but would it be to slippery, i know its a soft wood so would the spar actually help it strength wise. Alot of folks like the way i painted it and along with other things so i want to try to get the next "oh wow" step in there. Any comments good or bad is really appreciated. Thanks all.Pics are before (white) and after (red)

Do a quick a search and you get lots of hits...search function is at the top right of the page.

thanks rickybobbybend..

1/4" luan has very little strength/stiffness on it's own. You would need a lot of support structure to use it. Luan has less strength than normal ply (unless it has changed) as the plies run the same direction instead of at 90 degrees to each other.

The spar will protect it well, but it will not add strength. Is is just a varnish, after all.

As far as being slippery...probably. You can always add some traction with sand or pumice though.

If you wanted to use luan you'd probably have to add a few laminates of fiberglass but even then that would get pricey.

Yeah i was going to use 2x2's for the supports done in the spar urethane which would have the support i needed due to the fact that luan i believe only comes in 1/4" but like it because when you stain it it brings out a nice wood grain.Plus weight factor would come into play. The look i was wanting was a "barn wood" effect. but after researching and finding some other posts on here i believe it wont achievable.It would definitely be a "different look" and one of a kind. Thanks all for your input. it is appreciated

It's actually 5mm (closer to 3/16). If you like the grain you might be able to get away with a couple plys of it. Maybe glue 1/2" plywood and 5mm luan together with luan being on top.

I just finished making a pine wood shoe box to fit a corner of a garage. I tried using Luan for the sliding doors but they won't even stay straight in the vertical position!

I made my floors on my tin using half inch plywood with a 2x2 frame support. It does flex a little but it is easy to remove in case I have to get under the floors quickly. I used concrete outdoor patio non slip paint on them. I'm going on the third year and haven't had to touch up or repair anything yet.