: Beautiful boat! You've started me working up the building fever again after
: just about finishing my 2nd. SOF. Can you give me more information on the
: skin material, i. e. nylon or polyester, and the finishing process
: (whether you varnished it before or after adding the enamel decoration or
: both)? I am also interested to know if painted decoration is subject to
: flaking and wear (more so than the skin finish).
: Liz

The skin is ballistic nylon from Dyson. I used Cunningham's side seam idea using unwaxed dental floss for thread. I varnished the kayak before putting on the gunwale design. I though about covering it with another coat of Varathane, but it was 3 days after the last coat of Varathane and I was worried that it might not bond well. Don't know if the paint will flake off, but it is easy to re-apply since it is just a stamp.

This was a learning process. I didn't have the artwork designed until after the Varathane was done. I just kept looking at the boat, thinking it needed something more. By the time I decided what I wanted the options were limited. It would would probably be best to apply the design near the end of the varnishing process, then cover it with a couple of coats of varnish.