: Not sure if I posted this or not last year...

: This is a little rec boat I built for the family in the fall of
: 2009 but only launched it last summer. It's a SOF version of my
: old Saco 12 rec boat (you can see Lena putting some paddles into
: it). I've learned a lot about boat design since that boat (built
: in 2005). I narrowed it down, made it longer and made the
: baidarka-like stern more apparent. It really transformed the
: boat. It's much easier to paddle at cruising speeds. It's not
: quite as stable (relatively speaking... I can stand in the old
: boat).

: The hull has the Dacron/Vectracloth skin system I adapted from Bill
: Hamm. It's a tough system with a weight equal to that of 12oz
: polyester. It's amazing how much resin that 4oz Vectracloth
: soaks up. Rugged though... except for the paint. I painted the
: bottom with some Brightsides urethane that was left over from a
: previous project. The paint was pretty useless. Now I'd finish
: it with some UV resistant epoxy and call it good. Did the Vectra
: provide any more toughness for the added weight than just a
: layer of fiberglass (like Bill uses)? Hard to say. My daughter's
: new boat is getting Dacron/fg for a comparison.

: The deck was a layer of Dacron with Walmart cotton/polyester
: fabric. Laminated with epoxy and protected with a clear
: urethane.

Hi Dan,

Btw, did you seal the Dacron with epoxy first prior to putting on the Vectra?

Had a thought, when I first tried this method I tried to wet out the glass and the Dacron at the same time, acts like a giant sponge, sucks up gross quantities of epoxy.

Bill H.