: I an in the process of building a stick frame kayak using "Wood and
: Canvas Kayak Building" written by George Putz. I have the frame done
: and have tried to put #12 canvas on. I must have done it wrong. When I put
: the canvas on it was tight but after I put my first coat of oil based
: polyurethane paint on the skin and when it dried it was all wrinkled. I
: probabaly did not strecth it enough. Could I have some how shrunk the
: canvas before I painted to keep it tight.
: I have removed the canvas and would like to know about using nylon. In
: WoodenBoat there was and article on building a baidarka kayak using woven
: nylon cloth and epoxy-urethane sealant. In reading the threads I get
: confused. Can you heat shrink nylon. I bought a yard of flag grade nylon
: and heated it. It shrank but returned to original size after it cooled.
: The book suggests Dacron but I have heard epoxy does not bond good to
: dacron. I would appreciate any help I can get. Thank you/ Ken Moran

Ken,
After I covering my Walrus I wetted it down with water. I used a sponge and just ried to keep the canvas wet. While the canvas was wet, it stayed tight. Once it dried it came almost all the way back to normal dimensions.
Like Rehd said I used water based paint. I first put on 1 or 2 coats of acrylic water based sealant. Then I used exterior acrylic house paint.
Since you've removed your skin, and it doesn't sound like you're planning to put it back on, you have the oppurtunity to move away from canvas and into synthetic. Canvas gets pretty heavy when all those layers of paint are applied. Its easy to add +10 lbs just in paint. with synthetics, you'll have a stronger, lighter boat.

Roger

PS I also used canvas pliers, regular pliers, very sore fingers and whetever else I could find to get the canvas super tight. Before I applied the paint the boat sounded like a drum.