Carl you and I need to hang out. I was going to put some high end furniture grade wood laminate in the mold on my A cat but decided against it because I was worried about the thermal issues from having it sit in the sun. I'd love to have a "wood" boat that is only wood as the first 3/32 of the laminate, with a foam core and composite inner skin.

Or cotton fabric outer skin, which actually adds some structure, unlike paint.