: I was talking to my Dad about skinning my boat and he recommended using
: Dacron from www.aircraftspruce.com and dope like a homebuilt aircraft.
: (He's big into private aviation and all his planes have had dacron skins)
: One big good point in onsite repairs. With dope only on the Dacron, you
: can make a patch onsite in about 30 minutes of drying time.
: I can't think of a reason this wouldn't work using 2.7oz dacron. Has anyone
: gone the aviation route???

I would highly recommend the Dacron (polyester), but would go with a higher weight. Aircraft Dacron is not robust enough for most boat applications. The only one I know of using 2.7 oz material is Platt Monfort (http://www.geodesicairoliteboats.com/index.html) in his ultralight boats. While these boats are very light, they are not what I would consider all purpose. Most people seem to do well with 9 oz material. Some go to higher weights of 13 or 15 oz if they know they will encounter a lot of rocks, etc. My boat with 9 oz has shown no wear at all in a year.

: Also, do most ppl fill the weave completely and put a smooth finish on or, do
: they allow the weave to be seen? Seems after that much work, you would
: want to show the fact that it's fabric. Jsut curious.

I used a waterbased polyurethane with 4-5 coats. This closed the pores (I hope! :-), but the weave is still visible. I think it would be pretty hard to take out the weave with the dope alone.

For your info, higher weight dacrons are available from George Dyson at: 360-734-9226. He has no web page, but if you give him a call he can give you some advice on the right weight and will also send samples.

Good luck and post some pics if you get a chance.

Bill Price