DURRETTD

You can get flotation bags that have a water-tight opening large enough to store large items. Jeff may not make storage-flotation bags, but they are available elsewhere.

Avoid the heat gun! apparently they get too hot and often melt the fabric. Jeff recommends using an iron. He discusses it in his books and stresses the need to test the iron on a piece of scrap cloth!

Jeff: Just because he's been convinced it's safe, doesn't mean he won't feel better with a little reinforcement for the fabric. He might feel better if he gets a sleeping bag pad or other closed cell foam and cutting out a couple of strips to glue to the fabric under his heels.

I try to avoid approaching any landing - even in a tupperware boat - bow-on. I approach parallel to the shore. I also exit the boat from the side away from the shore, especially in areas with frequent power boat wakes or at the beach; if you're between your kayak and the shore, a wave or wake can bowl you over - sending your boat into your legs with surprising force. This is especially important at the beach with a 60-pound tupperware kayak. Even with a SOF it can be unpleasant. A bow-on landing also makes your boat less stable. When the bow is supported by the beach, it's also lifted a bit, the max beam is shifted aft to a narrower portion of the boat, making it less stable. I rely on rub strips to protect the bow and stern when I'm resting one end on grass or sand while lifting the other end onto a roof rack. Meanwhile, back to Jim's question: I've had good luck with Lexel sticking to everything and anything.

And, don't boil your boat - at least limit boiling to the stringers, unpainted skin, and sinew.

If you paddle a canoe with a double-blade paddle you'll get a lot of strange looks and an occasional question from the uninformed who are certain that you're "supposed" to use a single-blade. You'll also get where you're going with less effort and in greater comfort. I haven't used a single-blade canoe paddle since about 1992 and I don't miss it at all. you'll find that 29-inch beam is no problem at all, even with a shorter double-blade intended for a narrow kayak.

EXCELLENT VIDEO!

Are the bubbles a separation of one layer of paint from those below or the skin lifting away from the frame? Did you thin your first coat of paint? I'm guessing that thinned paint will penetrate the fabric better and adhere to the frame a bit better than unthinned paint. Maybe an unthinned first coat could allow the skin to separate from the frame when stressed by different shrinkage and expansion rates caused by humidity and temperature changes.

I recommend you buy both of Jeff's books, either from his site or as e-books from Amazon. He discusses fabrics and coatings at length. Look over Jeff's website at: http://www.kudzucraft.com/web/

Yes, everyone needs a canoe or a pirogue, and a couple of kayaks, and a sliding seat row boat, and a sail boat, and ...

Jeff juggles lots of factors when he designs these boats. Strange things happen when you scale a boat up or down. You may find that although cloth will stretch around the boat and conform to the curves, sheet plywood is not likely to bend to fit the frame. Plywood will conform to a cone or cylinder shape, but not to a sphere - it won't stretch. If you decide to do this, I recommend you try fitting kraft paper before you buy and cut plywood, then you can order cloth if the paper won't conform to the frame.

You have an automatic?!!? My old plastic boat has a standard transmission and I keep getting the pedals confused, I gotta' build one of Jeff's boats. Is the auto trans hard to build?

I've used Excel to visualize the lines and dimensions of one of Jeff's boats (a Curlew published in his first book) and for an Iggy. I haven't actually lofted or built either boat. I think it gives a good idea of how the lines flow and can be used to extrapolate some measurements, such as waterline length and beam, deadrise, etc. I would not consider it lofting and would be prepared for surprises while building. I'll also second Robert's hope that you're not borrowing lines from a living, working designer, but maybe rather recreating a historic model.

Lowes carries Rustoleum enamel in "Safety Yellow" and "Safety Red".

PLEASE, use it to make a laminated coaming, finish it bright, and post photos! On second thought, if you use it for a coaming, you'll probably never be able to force yourself to cover it with a spray skirt. Maybe Jeff could convince Seals to make a clear spray skirt?