Hi Garland,

Welcome to the forum! I think we can come up with several suggestions for you regarding your questions.

Regarding a source for the Dacron, I would recommend a fellow named George Dyson and Baidarka in Washington.

Details on contacting them are here:

KayakWiki : Dyson, Baidarka & Co.

You want a dacron between 8-12 oz in weight for your purpose... because it is for racing, you likely will want one on the lighter side.

Others will need to help you regarding tape... I usually sew the cloth on to the wood through many small holes.

The usual coating for this material is polyurethane varnish. There are proponents for water borne and solvent borne and two part polyurethane. I have used water-borne, as some say it is more flexible than the solvent borne. We usually put 3-8 coats on the cloth, depending on how smooth we want it to be.

Rick