: I have decided to use nylon to cover my kayak frame. My supplier has
: suggested I use hypalon to coat the nylon. I looked up hypalon and find it
: is made by Gaco Western. Their web page recommends the use of a Aliphatic
: urethane (UA-7000). for the kayaks. I get more confused. One of thier
: stories is about a builder that used two coats of satin finish poly
: urethane on a polyester skin first. Another suprise is the cost of this
: UA-7000.

: What is normally used to cover a nylon skin? Could I just use a polyurethane
: paint? Has any one used the hypalon and how did they use it? I would
: appreciate all the help i can get. Thank you/ Ken Moran

Ken:
Just finished and launched an Inuit style haul SOF with an Aleutian style front deck as outlined in Wolfgang Brinks "The Aleutian Kayak". I did purchase the Hypalon from Gaco Western. The stuff is prisey and be prepared to reach for the resperator as the contents will fry your brain! All recomendations call for at least an 8oz or better weight of Dacron. The Dacron can be shrunk by use of a household steam iron, but be careful. Problems with the Dacron is it is hard to sew and you need to cut it with a hot cutting iron to keep it from fraying.

The Hapalon that I applied did not cover or seal as predicted and the first launch was a wet one as water seeped through the fabric. The yak now has two additional coats of a good Helmsman marine spar urethane that has an UV protector. The skin is still flexable and the urethane did not add that much extra weight.

The guy that is quoted in the Geco ad is Bill Low. I contacted him about the (UA-7000) product and he does like it. It is very expensive. Bill is a nice guy and I don't think he would mind if you contact him ( billow@capecod.net ).

Good Luck!