Michael Frandsen Posted July 4, 2018 Report Share Posted July 4, 2018 Hi everyone, I Live in Denmark and find it a little hard to locate some good quality Polyester fabric for skinning a kayak. I would prefer to find a 9oz, as I have read it is the weight to use for a good quality skin. I, however, found a 6oz Dacron sail cloth, but am unsure if that may have some kind of coating which is undesired for skinning a kayak? Is Dacron tougher that traditional Polyester fabric? Thanks in advance. Regards Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 Dacron sail cloth is stiff and the weave is extremely tight. I bet it would be very hard to get it nicely fit over a kayak frame. The words "dacron" and "polyester" cover such a broad range of chemistry. You can get dacron polyester. Jeff can tell you about the fun he has had sourcing and stocking material and give better advice as to where to look, or what to look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 I was taught and stand by this, you want uncoated fabric. Sailcloth will have a coating of some sort on it. The issue is how do you waterproof it? Can you apply something over the coating and will it adhere to it? If it does stick will it start to turn loose latter on? That is why I advise buying from someone that sells fabrics specifically for this purpose. As Hirlonde implied, it is very hard to find something I consider suitable. I have talked to mills and distributors and only found three fabrics I will sell. I am sure there are others out there but I haven't found them. You can buy it from me or one of the other supplies and have it mailed. It will cost $30-$40 US dollars to ship (guessing) and you might face some import fee's to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Frandsen Posted July 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 Thanks Jeff and Hirilonde I can fully appreciate the reason why a coating is not wanted, when thinking on the adhesive part. I will surely prefer buying from a seller that sells for this purpose too, but of course check if I can find any European store to start with. The main reason for this is a 25% import tax. Buying from you at kudzucraft, is a safe and good solution as it assures the correct material, not only uncoated, but also in terms of weight/strength. My guess is the 6oz, I found so far, is probably not suitable. I also may require more than usual as I am thinking of creating internal "sacks" and sow onto some hatches. A kind of hybrid kayak i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Frandsen Posted July 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 Jeff, just watched your video on fabric and its real nice to get an explanation on pros and cons. I feel the premium is probable what I would go for. When wrapping around a frame, how much do you usually have in excess of the 64"? My thoughts is not to sow in the middle, but along the gunvales, so would require two stiches. My reason for this is to be able to sow on the top along with some internal structure onto the hatches. then I can varnish internally before closing up the hull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 There is always a good bit of scap fabric left, especially from the narrow ends. Best thing to do it measure the girth at the widest point of the boat to determine how wide a fabric you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Frandsen Posted July 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 True. I still have lots of fiberglass left from my last project which was a shrike from cnc kayaks. Perhaps also a good idea to get your latest fuselage boat building book ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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