: I have been bitten by the bug to build a boat and am very interested in doing
: a skin on frame boat. My concern is for durability, specifically puncture
: resistance. I kayak primarily on inland lakes and rivers. Dodging rocks
: and sticks is a given. Getting in and out is usually harder than on a
: beach. Would I be doomed to failure and a wet butt if I went the skin
: route?
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Recently built a Skene/Putz 18.5 ft skin kayak using 3.7 oz Dacron (reject aircraft fabric at $3.50 US/yd from Aircraft Spruce and Supply) over cypress strips. Needed 7 yd length-wise but lots left over (in width). Shrinks nicely with heat gun or iron. Used rather expensive Cecobond and Cecofill ($60 worth, same vendor) but they are easy to use and work well. Boat is very light and seems rugged enough, but time will tell. I beach it regularly but watch for rocks. Ran the entire keel with 7/8" X 3/16" cypress strip and #8 SS Robertson screws, and also have 7/8"X 0.025" stainless steel rub strip fastened with SS screws on part of the keel near stern ("draggin zone"). A great boat for peanuts and 150 hours of my time. Incidentally, having a friend with a sawmill helps a lot.
C. Haynes