: Is there some kinda magic tape I can overlay on the seam? I could
: stitch it as tight as possible and spread a load of 5200 down it
: maybe...

make your own magic, but put away the 5200. you don't need it here. Just sew on a scrap of fabric to give you the amount of cloth you need. I'd put in three rows of stitches.

Overlap your patch material about an inch over the edge of what you have on the boat. Stitch that on with tightly spaced stitches. The more stitches the merrier. keepthem in a straight line and about 1/2 inch in from the edge, or downthe middle of the overlapped area.

Then do another row of stitches parallel to this and about 3/8" above it. You want to get these stitches close to the edge of the material which is inside, and under your patch fabric. This will keep that inside edge from fraying. Finally do a third row of stitches, again parallel to the first row you did, but underneath it about 3/8" You want this about 1/8 inchfrom the edge of the patch material. Again, this catches the edge and will help keep it from unraveling. If you ant, you can do a series of v shaped stitches (zig-zag) whhich go over that edge. That will also help to keep it from unraveling, and tack it down neatly.

When you apply the coating to waterproof the fabric you'll get enough soaking into the fabric to seal over your seam. You may want to be a bit sloppy iwth the first coat in this area: Put it on heavily so you get some soaking through to wet out and seal the bit of fabric on the underside of this seam. The coating will seal your stitches.

While you are coating the skin, lay out a yard or so of excess fabric and paint that with your coating, too.
that gives you some matching fabric for repairs and patches. If you need to fix a rip or puncture just coat the inside of your patch material with some contact cement, apply a bit of the same contact cement around the damaged area, wait for the solvent in the contact cement to evaporate, and press the patch in place. that should give a strong, watertight patch. If your stitching doesn't look too neat, you can use your patch material and contact cement to cover it. you can also use strips of your patch material glued on as rub strips for protecting areas of high wear, such as along the keel.

PGJ