The aircraft dacron is suitable for careful use , get the 3.7 oz a good coating for the hull is plasti-dip , for the deck you can use an acrylic latex and if you want to be cheap use it for the hull as well. Put rub strips on the bottom stringers and keelson.

: Steve -

: This sounds very like the old Folbot I obtained recently. It needs some work,
: including new paddle blades, replacing a missing backrest, and fixing up
: the broken coaming.

: In addition, the naugahyde skin is puckered a little along the gunnel where
: the two layers have apparently separated, and it needs new strips along
: the bow and keel where the original has worn through. I plan to use a PDI
: product called 'vyna-bond' to bond the naugahyde.

: Although the fabric is tough, one downside is it's immense weight. I'm sure
: the 18' boat is over 100 lbs. After I get it in the water to see if it's
: nice to paddle, I'd been thinking about reskinning it like the 'Geodesic
: Airolite' boats (http://www.geodesicairoliteboats.com/).

: Does anyone have any comments about this idea?

: Thanks - Dave