Stitching Curlew Fantail Update

[Douglas Jacobs]

Thanks to Andy, Scott, and Jeff for their suggestions regarding how to sew up Curlew's fantail.  The suggestion that no one would notice what we had done after it is painted was very helpful.  The attached pictures show that we had to fold the extra cloth over and sew it around the edge of the fantail.  Then as we did the roll stitch we had to cut out a V-shaped piece of fabric so that the rolled-over fabric would lay smoothly around the bend from the top to the back of the tail.  Our goal was to have a little overlap, but we almost cut too large a V, so this step should be done conservatively.  The pictures should be self-explanatory.  Having my friend, Steve, as a partner was a lifesaver since his stitching skills are far superior to mine.  We double stitched the tail to make sure that the rolled over fabric would stay put.  

 

When we completed the sewing we still had several large wrinkles around the coaming which are visible in the picture of me standing with the kayak in the sunlight.  The picture of me standing with the kayak in the shade, shows the improvement after extensive work with an iron and a heat gun.  We practiced first on a scrap piece of fabric stapled to a frame to make sure we wouldn't melt the fabric with the heat gun.  

 

As pictured with foot-pedals but without paint, back-band, seat, deck rigging and brass rub strips, our Curlew weighs 22.3 lbs.  I plan to paint it with Rust oleum paint after testing three coats of both Rust oleum and a new fabric oil-based spray paint by Glidden.  It has only been on the market for a couple of months and I discovered it when I met a Glidden rep at our local Home Depot.  It seems stiffer than the Rust oleum, but I plan to do more testing on left-over scraps of fabric.  

 

 

[andy00]

Looking good! That rounded stern was a pain but it does look cool. Throw some paint on that boat, get it in the water, and report back on how it paddles!