: .. .A quick study on the SOF boats will educate us that we cannot use paint or
: varnish on the dacron covering as it will be reduced in strength by as
: much as 80% due to this bonding of the fibers. . .

I absolutely agree. and all those boats that have been built with varnish or paint or hypalon on their dacron skins are totaly unsafe and should be taken from the ater immediately. In order to make this less painful, I will personally offer $5 for each boat like this which is sent to me. This will of course be a tremendous personal financial hardship for me, so I would appreciate it if all these boats could be sent to me immediately, as I would like to have them by April 30th.

PGJ

p.s. Just want to add a note to mention that I expect to be having a large sale of used S-O-F boats, starting at $100, on May 1st. The sale is limited to inventory supplied by suckers who send me their boats after reading the preceding offer.

p.p.s. If I can remove my tongue from my cheek right now, I'd like to point out that while paints, coatings and other such materials that might tend to trap a fiber strand in one place, so that it can not move, might cause a certain weakening effect to some properties of a fabric, there are other matters to be considered. The most commonly seen effect is that a woven fabric is stronger than an single thread because the weaving process helps to spread loads over more threads. It is certain that constant bending imposed by the weaving process also weakens the individual fibers, for a similar number of fibers held in a straighter arrangement, such as seen in a rope, will have greater strength.

Like weaving, the use of epoxy (or other) resins helps to spread some loads over many fibers of glass in a fiberglass composite. this can be one where the glass fibers are woven, bundled linearly, or aranged at random in a mat. What you then have is a plastic which is reinforced by the addition of these fibers. as long as the strength of this reinforced plastic is greater than what you need then you go with it. the amount of strength NEEDED from a piece of dacron covering a kayak frame, under most conditions, is a tiny fraction of the actual strength of the material -- coated or otherwise. In extreme conditions, where stresses can build up to a point of compoonent failure, it is likely the frame will crack, or the skin will tear. Such conditions are usually single events, so repairs can usually be made shortly after the accident. The simplicity of the boat makes such repairs relatively simple processes, too. Carry duct tape.

Hope you got a chuckle from the first part of this.

PGJ