Roger- Sounds like a good looking kayak!

Do not sand into the canvas.

The smoothness of the hull is desireable but to be perfectly smooth adds considerable weight... at least with paint. In my experience (3 canvas skinned kayaks) having a less than perfectly smooth hull is not noticeable when paddling my 20.5" beam Aleutian style alongside a fiberglass 21" Nordkapp, both paddlers of equal strength.

I went with 3 hull coats - a mixture of 2/3 oil based flat paint and 1/3 boiled linseed oil with a handful of chalk powder per coat for filler. Sanded lightly the 2nd and 3rd coats. The bottom is not real smooth but it is easy to put more paint on. The canvas and paint added 11 pounds to the bare frame, three coats were put on the deck as well.

This kayak was launched 4 1/2 years ago and still does not leak a drop. I've inadvertently scraped over barnacle covered boulders a few times that had me expecting a serious tear only to find minor scratching. Still I treat my kayak carefully and do not drag it.

Its a good idea to put a rub strip of wood on the keelson especially at the rear.

Only use 15oz canvas. I used Thompson's Waterseal on the inside of the skin before I put it on the 17' frame , this reduced the amount I was able to stretch it from 9" to about 4" - 4 1/2".

The finished canvas skin is snug when dry and gets tighter if paddled everyday on a trip.

Canvas is not the perfect skin but it is user friendly - it being a natural fibre complements the wood frame in a satisfying way that my synthetic skinned kayaks do not.

Dry it out in the sun / or heated room when it gets wet inside and store out of the weather - it could last 10 years I've read - otherwise they say approx 5 years is to be expected.

One of my best memories is paddling my canvas skinned wood framed kayak on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in late September. The ocean is sooo big and I felt so very small in my kayak