: . . . the big story tech wise was this new swimsuit
: fabric designed like a shark skin. It was supposed to agitate the water in
: such a way as to reduce the ammount of drag. Does anyone know the name of
: this fabric? Has anyone investigated it's properties for a boat skin?

The inventor of the kayak explored this possibility and was remarkably able to incorporate the exact texture of large marine animals by using real walrus and seal skins. No cheap imitation or synthetics here! Of course this was a few centuries ago.

If you want to duplicate this feat today with a shark skin texture, I suppose you first have to catch a shark that is big enough to cover your kayak. Look for one that is at least 20 feet long. Best of luck in this regard. Please send a picture if you succeed.

Best of luck with this.

PGJ

By the way, when did you get the bug for skin on frame boats. I thought you were interested in running fast rivers. Most people these days seem to want a more rigid boat for dancing among the rocks, although I've heard that the nylon/hypalon skins used on some skin boats are incredibly tough, and flex rather than dent when they hit something. If you go this route consider the many choices of materials available for construction, and the wealth of plans. you could build two boats very reasonably, and pretty fast, which would get you and your son out camping this summer. (just in time to feed the mosquitos)