: Hi: I'm going tomorrow to collect an old 17 foot Folbot from a friend. It's a
: gift. My understanding is that the skin is shot. I called the current
: owner of the Folbot company (here in my own town) and Phil informed me
: that they no longer produce any kind of skin for the boat. It's not a
: collapsable version and I've been considering a variety of pentential
: solutions for the hull. I'm thinking of planking the hull with plywood and
: doing the deck in Canvas with airplane dope. Anyone got any advice?

Pete,

I built a non-folding version of a folbot back in the early 70's.
As I recall, the skin was PVC. So, why not be true to the original
and make your own PVC skin. Cost with vinyl cement will be under
$100.00 and time invested under 30 hrs. You can make the skin as
a one piece hull and possibly a one piece deck using either staples
or simply glued together at the gunwales (no sewing).

Mauritzon Inc. in Chicago sells 18 oz. PVC at $5.00 per linear
yard ( 61 X 36in). The HH-66 Vinyl cement will run you about $10.00 qt.
You'll need 2 or 3qts. ( it's cheaper by the gallon) for a large boat
like the Folbot. A first time builder in Argentina just completed a
Folbot style kayak with PVC skin and had no difficulty. Attached is
a pic of his new PVC skinned folder.

Another approach is to sew on a nylon or polyester skin, shrink it, and
coat with hypalon / neoprene, or some other elastomer ( synthetic rubber),
or urethane. This approach works fine on a non-folder like yours.

Contact me for instructions on PVC skinning if that approach appeals
to you or for sewn / coated skin info for that matter. No charge.

Best,

Tom