I'm building a Mess About 15, and have started with the covering. I'm using 8 oz. Polyester Fabric..
I used pushpins down the keel, turned it over am ready to sew. I had a hard time handling the fabric, so I used pushpins on the gunnels to make the fabric cover the bottom smoothly. That seems to work well. However, the fabric between the gunnel and the center of the deck doesn't want to lay flat. I realize that the boat is not flat, and something has to give. To help figure where to place the fabric, I used pushpins along the center stringer of the deck. I'm working with only the aft deck. There is some bunching up of the fabric along the center stringer, but I think it will tighten up when I apply heat.
Now the chore is to sew the fabric and have it stay in place where it is pinned. As I sew, the fabric wants to slide aft, where the boat is narrower. This of course makes it bunch up. I've only sewed about 30% of the way from the cockpit toward the stern, but I don't expect to be able to continue.
Having covered many model airplanes over the years, I would love to try using dope and staples, at least to attach the fabric to the frame. Then I could use heat to shrink the fabric, and enamel to make it waterproof.
Frustrated in Wake Forest