: I have a canvas/wood frame tandem kayak, and it must be about 35 years old
: now. It is at the point where it requires some restoration, and I was
: hoping that you or someone else in this forum could give me some advice.

Send along a picture if you get a chance. Any idea of the length and width or other design specs?

: It's in fairly good condition for a kayak that has seen use. It Some holes
: have developed in the canvas, and this is really the greatest weakness.
: Last summer water actually came in while we were in the lake :-) At that
: point I knew it needed more care.

: Some questions: 1.) What is the best way (for a student on a budget) to
: repair the canvas shell of the kayak.

The usual cure for this is to put on a new skin. You can get a #10 duck fabric for under $3 a foot. This fabric weighs about 12 to 15 ounces per square yard and is heavy-duty stuff. Your local fabric store probably has a lighter weight (probably 10 ounce per square yard) canvas. While the heavier stuff is preferred, you can use the lighter material for some patches. If you only have a few holes and minor tears, just put on a few patches.

: 2.) What sort of hard rubberized coating would be appropriate for painting
: onto the bottom (along the "keel") to protect the boat from
: further wear at the lake's edge.

Reinforce this with fabric, just as you would do with a patch. You can cover this with an exterior house paint, or an elastomeric rubber roof coating like Snow Cote, which goes on like a latex paint, but dries to a durable, watertight finish.

: 3.) What sort of water repelent treatment is used with canvas (i.e. that
: won't EAT the canvas or anything nasty) So that it is hydrophobic and
: repels the water that gets splashed on it.

There are all kinds. One is parafin, or wax. You get a block of parafin from the canning department at a grocery store, (or catch a skateboarder and turn 'em upside down and shake a bit. They use the stuff on curbs) witha vegetable peeler you can shave this into thin flakes that you dissolve in naptha (lighter fluid) or gasoline (if you are REAL cheap and have a death wish). Paint it on canvas ans it will soak in. When the solvent evaporates the wax will be left behind, filling the pores of the fabric.

A similar result can be obtained with greater safety by using something like Thompson's Watersealer. They do not list on the can that it an be used for waterproofing canvas, although I could swear that years ago it did.

The problem with any kind of wax coating on fabric is that it is a fire hazard. that is not a big deal when the thing is constantly getting splashed around in the water, but in storage it can be.

The most commonly use waterproofing material is paint. Some prefer an oil base exterior enamel, and they will add to it some BOILED linseed oil, which will enhance the flexibility of the cured paint. Soem people add a quart of boiled linseed oil to 3 quarts of paint. Other things that are commonly thrown in are mildew preventatives. A good paint store will have what you need, even if they don't know why you want it. Some people prefer exterior latex paint. Don't use the regular linseed oil. It will take months to dry, if it ever dries at all.

Latex paint has its followers, too. DON'T add boild linseed oil to it, though. It will be flexible enough as it is.

if the color of the kayak is not too important, you can buy mis-tinted paint for very little money as most large home centers/hardware stores. I usually see gallons for $4 or less and quarts for $1. The actual colors you'll get can be, Umm, interesting. It can be good for waterproofing, and then you cover it up with a quart of the good stuff.

If you are creating a new skin for this kayak, you might consider going with a heavy gauge dacron. This synthetic fiber won't rot like canvas, and it has been shown to be very durable when coated with a polyurethane finish. Two or three coats of a waterbased polyurethane like that used for finishing floors seems to work fine.

Other people will cover the same fabric with a synthetic rubber like neoprene or hypalon. The stuff is smelly, bad to breathe, expensive and there are not a lot of people who sell gallon cans. George Dyson, of Dyson Baidarka, in Bellingham Washington does, though. He also sells the heavy Dacron fabric.

As for patching your boat. First thing to discover is what is currently waterproofing it. If it is a waxy finish, then it will be hard to get an adhesive to hold onto it. You will hae to sew on patches with closely spaced stitches, and saturate the area with a waxy waterproofing material -- and hope it seals.

If it has a painted finish you have a few choices. Duct tape works pretty well, and might last a few months. Otherwise, cut a piece of fabric that overlaps the hole by at least 2 to 3 inches on all sides. You can use the ruberized sheeting sold for baby's cribs (see your fabric store for this) or you can use duck or canvas fabric. If you are using canvas or duck: paint heavily over the area to be patched with your house paint, lay on the patch, and then paint over the patch. The paint that is sandwiched in between will act as a glue. Once this paint is dry, if you have any rough edges, you can go over them with some sandpaper to remove them. Put on one or two more coats of paint.

You can make up patches in advance by painting two or three coats of paint of a square of canvas fabric. Staple the fabric to a piece of plywood to keep it flat while the paint dries. From this material you can cut patches which you stick on with contact cement. You can use rubber cement as a contact cement by coating both the boat and the unpainted side of the patch, let the glue dry and then press the dry, but slightly tacky pieces together, and apply pressure.

A far better adhesive is called Barge, and it is designed for leatherwork. Very waterproof and flexible. You can use a drop of it alone to seal pinholes, or use it as a contact cement for really strong patches.

: 4.) What adhesives would you recommend for re-attaching
: "?leather?/?rubber?" reinforcing pieces on the bow and stern of
: the canvas skin?

Leather won't be very good. You can get vinyl, including Marine vinyl, which is commonly used for upholstering seats on boats, from fabric stores. I believe Jo-Ann fabrics is having a sale on this material this week or next. You can check their website www.joann.com. Currently, if you visit the site you cna see their sale flyer. If you click on pages 22 nd 23, you can see Frontier and some other kind of vinyl on sale for $5.24 a yard until March 9th. I think the marine vinyl goes on sale after that. ( No, I'm not psychic, I just got the next flyer in the mail yesterday)

You can also use strips of canvas fabric, cut about 6 inches wide and held on with paint, or contact cement. Put on two or more layers if you wish, but keep them flat and unwrinkled. If your first layer is 6 inches wide, make the next layer 8 inches wide so it covers the edges. If you get 3 yards of fabric you can cut strips 9 feet long, and probably only have one barely noticeable overlap. Put on the stern piece first so the bow strip overlaps it. Cover with paint.

Another material, which you can treat almsot like a latex paint is Snow Roof.
this URl leads to a website that can give you a lot more information on this product than I care to type tonight. I have bought this, or a competing brand, at Home Depot or the late Builder's Square, for about $20 a gallon -- about the price of a gallon of good quality paint -- so it is reasonably priced. It is very water resistant, but doesn't do a darn thing about repelling mildew on cotton canvas. I'd add a mildewcide to it next time.

http://www.kstcoatings.com/snowroof/

test your waterproofing materials by painting a few squares of cheap cloth (muslin from the fabric store is usually the cheapest) gather the corners of the fabric like a hobo's sack and fill it with water. let it sit for an hour or two. If nothing leaks then it is working fine. use warm water to fill this. otherwise, if you get condensation on the outside you wo'nt be able to see if the waterproofing works.

Any of the waterproofing materials suggested for making patches can e used for waterproofing the whole skin, too. You can repaint the obat, or reskin it and then paint the new skin.

A lot here

hope it helps

PGJ