Thanks for the kind words.

Responses:

1. The pvc rolled aluminium slider idea was born of desparation !!!. I am happy it worked out well. I was short of time and could not get wood fast enough. At one stage I almost chopped the broom handle but made a hasty retreat, tools and all, after THAT look from the wife.
Incidentally, when using a conduit or a tube for the slider, drill the through holes at an angle to the tube side-- adds more friction and the slider stays put when tensioned. In my case the distance between the "inner" holes is about 4 inches and for the "outer" holes its about 6 inches.

2. Yes, the designs are cut from blue pvc and glued on. The tent and canvas supplier was kind enough to give me a scrap of the blue pvc.

I marked the designs on some scrap wallpaper--and then traced it onto the blue pvc. I cut out the design carefully in the wallpaper and used this as a template to clean the skin with MEK and also when applying the glue, so the glued area just matches the design-- achieved a little neater appearance compared to applying MEK/glue in a large area around the design.Picked this idea from a printer friend who makes gummed labels.

3. I am looking forward to Vancouver and would like to meet other SOF kayak builders. On the Beach 2009 -- Sure !!!!

Cheers