: Thanks Paul, Sean & Tom,
: I ended up cutting a 12" slit along the keel at the stern. This allowed
: the fabric to spread about 1" apart and thus follow the contour of
: the kayak smoothly. A patch over top of the keel re-joins everything. It
: seems to have worked out all right. Only the stern needed the extra
: attention, things worked out OK at the bow. I guess it's just the shape of
: this particular kayak and the way it all comes together at the stern.
: Now that I have the hull skinning completed, I worked today on building some
: air bags for the bow and stern. They will be removable (theoretically),
: but it's a lot easier to get them in there and check their fit without the
: deck in place.
: Cheers,
: Bryan

I thought about that, but I just loosened things up and made the bow and stern. I'll see how much I can tighten the lacing at the ends, but I'm not going to get stressed over it.

I also noticed how on his site, on bulletin boards, and in private emails, Tom always adds something about not making the skin so tight you can't assemble the boat.