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looking for fabric for SOF in Australia


bigtoepony

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Hello,

 

I am about to build a stonefly canoe in Melbourne and want to know where I can get a suitable polyester fabric from.

I would also like to know what to product (available in Australia) to finish it with. I like the look of the ivory colour and my preference is for a glossy smooth finish but at the end of the day the main thing is keeping the water out and durability.

Thanks in advance

Tony

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Suitable fabrics are so rare in Aus that I've never heard of anybody finding any. I bought mine from Jeff along with book, sinew and adjustable footpegs. Shipping costs a bit but as I recall it was reasonable enough to be well worth the trouble it saved by not having to find that stuff here. Plus you know it's suitable for the application.

 

As for coatings, I used a gloss enamel house paint - oil, not water based. My Curlew has scraped over a few things in skinny water and been fine so far. Also used something similar on a sailing dinghy many years ago and it was quite durable on that too. If you want to go for a clear finish then a single pack marine grade polyurethane might be OK. As per Jeff's advice always check for compatibility on a small area first. My experience is that these PUs stand up to the sun quite well these days but I suspect they would be less abrasion resistant than the gloss paint. Depending on where you paddle and how careful you are this may not be an issue.

 

Good luck with it, let us know how you go.

 

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Not just trying to sell you something but I suspect you will have a hard time finding anything. I search all the time, talk to mills and sales people and I have a very hard time finding really good material. No one makes anything specifically for our use. I ship around the world because finding a fabric is hard regardless where you are.

 

You said you wanted a really smooth finish. My Premium fabric is the smoothest fabric I have ever had. I ran out but I have a one length left that I miscut, laying in my office. It is the last of it and if your interested contact me. I can discount it a little bit. It will be a while before I have anymore in stock.

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Thanks for your advice men. Seems I will do as I thought I would have to and buy from Jeff.

 

I will take you up on your offer of the last bit of premium fabric Jeff. I also want to buy some twine for lashing frames and stitching. Shall I do this through the shop or, as it may not appear in the shop, will you prepare a special invoice?

Anyway let me know.

Thanks Tony

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Just realized something. The premium fabric is only 65 to 65-1/2" wide. I measure my Cast Away and it is 64 inches behind the cockpit and that only leaves you an inch to try to sew a seam and that is really not enough to work with.

 

The 9 oz is wide enough so I would have to recommend going with it. It is not as fine a weave as the Premium but it is still a really good fabric. I used a clients boat a while back and was impressed with it. 

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