: Hi,
: I am in the process of building a Kayak SOF and I am having some
: issues with getting supplies in rural Nova Scotia. The kayak
: will be a non folding sea bee, although I do plan on making a
: folder in the future, a Sea Tour 17 Exp I think would be very
: nice for my intended uses. The places I have to get supplies
: from are Digby Marine, Atlantic Fabrics, Canadian Tire, Home
: Hardware and Rona. My biggest hurtle so far is finding a skin
: and something to seal it with.
: When I went to Atlantic Fabric and asked for an 18 ounce vinyl core
: PVC cloth the lady promptly told me 'We dont sell pluimbing
: supplies', and showed me their rain gear fabrics which didn't
: seem durable enuf, does PVC fabric go by a different name in the
: fabric world? Tom sent me a link to a supplier so if all else
: fails I can order some. I did find a PVC pond liner at Canadian
: Tire, it felt durable enuf, and I think it was made out of a 20
: some ounce PVC, but no other info as to its core material. Can
: it be used as a skin?

: Does HH-66 go by other names? No one at any ofthese stores seemed
: to know what HH-66 was.

: I know I can get Canvas, and Probably Nylon, Vinyl, and Polyester.
: What comon products can be used for sealing? I have been reading
: since writing Tom and have came across a Kayak called a King
: Canvas back that used Spar Varnish as a sealant, as well as
: another that used a plasticized flexible roof sealant paint. Has
: anyone used this before? Did it work well?
: I guess what I am really trying to figure is what comon Harware
: products should I look for and use on my project?

: Thanks for everyones time, I know I am long winded

Hi Ty,
For canvas, I'd go for emanel paint, oil based, rather than varnish. Most varnish can make the canvas more prone to tearing if it gets caught on stuff. Polyester seems to work with paint, varnishes, etc. Nylon is best coated with more flexible finishes like polyurathane coatings.

The 20oz pool/pond liner PVC should do, it's just 2oz heavier than what Tom Yost uses. I don't know the other names of HH-66 but it's the flexible variant to the glue used for pvc plumbing pipe. A good respirator is recommended for using it.

That rain gear stuff would be too light and from what I've seen is only coated on one side for the most part.

Hope this helps,
Mike Savage
South West Cork