Kudzu

You build it like the canoes. Look at the section on Stonefly.

That is exactly what you should do.

I hear basically the same stories about applying Cory's Goop over and over. Lots of stories about how hard it is to apply so I have never tried it because of the stories. Was a afraid I would be disappointed and and do exactly what you are talking about. Ript it off and redo. My only experience with latex was a few years ago and it wasn't good. It didn't soak in the fabric well. It just sat on top of the fabric and eventually was scrubbed off in places and started to seep. I never tried it again but I am sure they have gotten better but not sure if they work well on boats. If it is thinner than it was that would probably be a good thing. It would soak in the fabric. Of course you can always go to Kirby Paints and get a good oil based in a lot of colors. That is what I will have to on new boats I build for anyone.

Have not tried poly on it so no idea.

Recently had someone that used Coelan and had the same thing happen so I added a warning to that page. But the good news is a week latter they tried heating it and it shrunk back to size and pulled tight. Haven't hear any more so I assume it stayed tight. You might want to try it as you have nothing to loose. But as you said, you should ALWAYS test a finish on scrap first.

So good to finally see photos for a finished Mayfly! Look good and I like those colors.

Anxious to see the launching photos!

Stonefly is a Double paddle canoe and was designed for the seat to sit on the floor or slightly elevated off the floor with feet in front of you. More kayak style of seating. It is not intended to have the seat up high like a standard canoe. On mine I have raised the seat up about half way between the floor and gunwale. You have to keep in mind that every bit you raise the seat height the higher the center of gravity is. A 1/4" can make a huge difference in how it fees.

Assume you coming from the bottom? With a helper sometimes you can move the coaming over enough to put them in. But it is just hard to do from the bottom but it looks much better when you get it done.

As I said, I did and they wanted more than I sell them for.

That is hard to answer not knowing what you have available. But I can say oil based products do the best. If you can find a clear oil based poly or Varnish, as long as they dry to hard finish that should work. Even if you store it inside I would try ti fond something with UV protection. There used to be a water clear finish available here, no idea exactly what it was but it tintable and very durable. It went away but you might have something similar if you do some searching on the internet.

Nice job!

Now I have finished the Starboard side repairs which needed the major work. I have 4(?) ribs left on that side to install. I had to wait till I removed the port side side planking. I can drive them in from underneath MUCH easier than from the top. I now have the those planks removed and some additional repairs to make while I have access. Just a bit more work and then I can install the ribs, the planking and I have all the major repairs made. Still a lot of work left to do but it feels so good to nearly have all the stuff done that had me so intimidated. Also wonderful watching how much easier the repairs get and how much better my skills are too.

I have been terrible about keeping this up to date. For a while I decided I was STORING rather than RESTORING this boat. But I have been working most every day on the boat for a few weeks and making good progress. Try to put in at least a couple of hours every day and latterly I have been putting in some pretty long days. My joints ache after this past couple of weeks so I need to take a few days and do some easy things. Big thing is the past few weeks I installed 90% of the ribs I needed too. I did a lot of sister framing and I now have the proper hull shape back. I had to do the ribs in two pieces. Tthey would need to been nearly 8' long and there was simple no way to get them in place before they cooled. Second, my oak was not good enough to take the tight bend at the chine. To much run out in the grain. So way to much breakage. So I steamed some shorter lengths and drove them in under the motor stringers up the chine a ways. Then I made a few molds and laminated the ends with the curve and up the sides. Tied them all together with a block or white oak. Took me a bit to get the steaming down right and found it a bit temperamental, but now I can steam and install very quickly working alone.

I never followed up on this but I got quotes from both and to my surprise it cost more than I charge to hand my kits. Not just a little bit either! So I will just keep cutting them by hand.