: I believe that dying the material is possible, but what about painting the
: ribs, stringers and gunwales, say white so that they do not look so bad?

Hmmm. Most people like the look of the ribs and other wood. That's part of the charm of a SOF boat.

Regardless, the easiest way to tint the skin is to add artist's oil paint to the varnish. It's available in a broad spectrum of colors and mixes perfectly with varnish. The fine pigments in it stay in suspension, producing a nice, even finish.

I've also tried using universal pigments from a paint store, but the results were not as good. They're much coarser and tend to settle out of suspension as the varnish cures. The result is that they accentuate the weave in the cloth, rather than producing and even finish.