: Has anyone put a skin deck on an s&g hull? How would you join the skin to the
: sheer? Just curious.

I put one on a canoe. Decided I didn't quite like it, and took it off again.

I used the plan shown in David Hazen's book on strip building canoes and kayaks. Basically he calls for a slot cut (on a tablesaw) about 1/2 inch deep into the bottom edge of the outer gunwale.

The fabric is simply pulled over the top of the canoe (or kayak in your case) wrapped over the gunwale, and pressed into the groove. A thick string or thin rope is pressed on top of this, serving as a spline to hold the fabric in tightly. This is the same idea behind how the window screen mesh fabric is held in the metal frame for a screen window. You can buy rubber spline in several different thicknesses, and a spline intallation tool, which looks like a small pizza cutter, at the hardware store, too.

My first attempt was with a ripstop nylon fabric and a cotton string. The fabric was rather "slippery" and the string may have been a bit small. Or, the groove was too wide. In any case, the top did not stay tight. Next time I try this I'll use the rubber window spline, and a cotton or a polyester fabric.

I picked up a nice 100% polyester canvas fabric at the local fabric store. It coes in solid and patterned colors, so i won;t need to paint it, and it is UV and water resistant. It was being sold as an awning fabric. It is not water tight like I would need for a hull, but for a deck it should be fine. Water splashed on it will run off.

The slot can be cut vertically, but Hazen suggests that if it is cut at a slight angle you'll have a bit more room for using a spline tool for inserting the rope or rubber spline.

Tqo nice things about using a slot for mounting: 1) You can remove the top in s jify by pulling out the spline. no need for hatches, just undo a large part of one side and flip up the fabric. To close, lay the fabric back in place and roll the spline back in. 2) you don't need to force the spline completely to the bottom of your groove. If it only needs to o in 1/4 inch to hold things tightly, fine. If you need to tighten it a bit more in one area or another, jsut force the spline ( and fabric) a little deeper into the slots. To keep fabric tension even you can install one side, then tighten the other.

Hope this helps

PGJ

hope this helps