Thanks Paul,

So my understanding is that the urethane (or other coating) seals the seams, so that they don't leak? Would a standard exterior polyurethane work with enough coats? Would a waterbased exterior poly work, or should i stick to oils and oil alkyds?

John R

: Short answer: Use nylon.

: Long answer:
: PVC does not flex like nylon or polyesther, so you will get
: wrinkles using PVC. When you use nylon you can stretch it drum
: tight, but afterwards in cooler weather it might slacken and
: wrinkle. ( 12 oz. nylon seems to be quite a bit more wrinkle
: resistant than 7 oz. ) A different type of wrinkling from PVC,
: which just wrinkles because it cannot do compound curves - and
: the wrinkles in PVC never go away in warm weather like they do
: in nylon.

: http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/gYyvIExWkqU/default.jpg

: PVC develops little pinholes easily, so you would have to patch it
: fairly often (depending on use) but patches are quite easy to
: administer.

: I guess I have to give abrasion resistance to nylon, although it
: will be the coating that you use that will make the difference.
: I only use oil based polyurethane floor paint or spar varnish
: for my coatings. There are much tougher coatings, but even with
: poly, I would give the abrasion resistance award to nylon. A
: note here - I used to just coat my boats with 2 coats of poly. I
: now fill in the weave completely, which takes about 5-6 coats.
: That makes a difference to abrasion as well of course.

: As for sewing, although it is a bit intimidating the first time,
: it's not that hard. It may not be beautiful the first time, but
: it's not hard.

: http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/FYWJANqRUsc/default.jpg

: http://capefalconkayak.com/howtoskinakayak.html

: Additionally, I have built 3 folders, and I'm not sure why you
: would want to build one. Keep in mind that it will take about 45
: min. to an hour to assemble, it's way more complicated and
: expensive to build, and it will probably still be too large to
: take on an airplane.
: Cheers,

: Paul M.
: http://paddleandoar.com