: What was the problem with the summer camp canoes, paint
: insufficiently water-proof, canvas too thick or too absorbent,
: or boats left in the water after use? There are modern materials
: that can be substituted for canvas and also better paints.

: Seadragon's boat needs additional cross-grain strength, but does it
: have to be glass and epoxy? I don't have actual experience of
: encapsulating boats so I didn't identify alternatives to canvas
: and paint.

: My own canoe is finished with ordinary latex house paint (but no
: fabric), it does not get saturated by a few hours spent in the
: water and if any water does gets in, it dries out when it is
: stored inside; it still looks pretty good so paint is an
: adequate finish for some boats, but I don't do rock gardening in
: it. For information, another boat that was finished the same way
: and stored outside (Canada) 24/7 for 3 years as a test of the
: finish now looks a bit stressed, so I don't recommend that for
: boats that get left outside or left in the water for long
: periods.

: I assume seadragon's boat will be dry-docked. Would dynel work? It
: has good abrasion resistance and takes paint well but I am not
: sure about strength; it may also be too stretchy. Xynole
: (polyester) might be stiffer. If there is no information
: available then perhaps a test panel could be made and tested to
: destruction to see if the wood under the cloth fails before the
: cloth due to its stretchiness.

The glass on a stripper isn't just a waterproof coating, it's a structural element. The epoxy/glass skins are attached to a wood core (much like the foam/balsa core in big boats) which separates the skins but keeps them attached. Acts much like an I beam where the strength is in the skins and the web of the I beam being the wood core. So the strength of a stripper boat is really in the skins, the core just happens to be pretty wood.

Bill H.