Hello Brian and all,

You have just described my boat...pretty much. I a have padded section in the back of my combing, all of my hatch straps are leather, and I have leather hand grips on my paddle. If I can find some pictures, I'll try to get them posted. Maybe I could E-mail'em to Nick...
> Anyone had experience using leather on thier boats?

Being somewhat of a Leather-crafter in my sparse, spare time, I wanted to add a little of my own touch to my boat. So I did! I even have a large strap, kind of like half of a weight belt as a back-band. Very comfortable!

> I was reading the sailmakers book, it turns out they still use real
> leather to reenforce the corners of the sails against chafe.

I can see how this would definitely lengthen a sails life span.

> I was just wondering if anyone here has used it on thier kayaks. Might be
> nice for a paddle handle ( like its done on oars),

> cockpit openings ( could even be padded),

> or for that matter ( though expensive $$ ) having a real 'skin boat'.
> Though I'd stick to cow leather.

This might be easier than it sounds, after all, what did the Inuits use? Seal or Walrus, wasn't it? And it wouldn't have to be prohibitively thick. Even a 3 to 4 oz. skin would suffice if no obstacles were foreseen. 1 0z. being equal to 1/64 inch. And if sewn right, and properly sealed, it should be watertight for quite some time.

As far as tanning goes, you don't even NEED Oak trees. The best way, is to use the brains of the animal to tan the hide. I'm not quite sure of the process, but you can't be sqeamish. heehee As far as chewing to make the skin supple, this is true, but BEWARE, the acids and chemicals found in hides will rot your teeth! And that's a fact...Jack.

> I'm in Texas folks, leather can be had cheap. :)

Cheap...let's see. Here in New York, I get all my leather from Tandy. A 3-4 oz. blacksmith's hide can be had for about...oh, $3.50 a square FOOT, the average side being about 16 to 22 sq. ft. And you would need maybe 4 or 5 sides for a 15 foot sea -yak, so,...roughly $350.00 just for leather. And a smith's hide would not even have to be water-proofed...much. I can't say for sure, but I believe they are VERY water resistant!

Well, I'm gettin' long winded here, so, I'll go see if I can find any pics.

SYOTW

Rick C.