: Paul,
: I failed to mention your name when I replied to Aaron above...sorry about
: that, thanks for your suggestions! I'm at at a very fun stage...the very
: beginning of a project! All the resources are of use...and skin on frame
: is very new to me at this point...however, in the shop where I'm currently
: renting space, the guys from the Irish Cultural Center are making a
: Curac...so I'm paying close attention to what they are up to. They're
: taking the lines off another boat, and will be building a couple from the
: measurements they make...the Morris book is still on order...maybe the
: Putz book will arrive first. I love this! Thanks!
: Bill

You can find the picture of the curragh in the Putz book and show it to your friends. I'm sure they'll enjoy it.

a suggestion for them: instead of using the conventional tar for sealing the canvas, they might look into a black elastomeric roofing material called Elasto seal which is black, and looks like tar, but is a better product for this use.

http://www.snowroof.com/images/esppp.pdf

Unlike tar it won't soften in the sun. It is very strong when cured, (over 250 PSI) and cleans up with water.

You can buy gallon cans (a gallon is more than enough for a boat or two) in the roofing department at Home Depot and similar hardware stores, or search for the material online.

It looks like the traditional tar, but it is better.

To quote Groucho marx: Except for the improvement they'll never know the difference.

Hope this helps.

PGJ