Flat deck sailing-catamaran F1 kayak build. Post 9, stitching on the fabric. There’s music here.
With the oil on the frame dry I was able to get to skinning the kayak. I returned to my original plan of putting 12 ounce cloth on this boat, not because I want that fabric on my boat but rather just because I haven’t put it on a kayak in a few years and I need to stay current on how various fabrics are working so I can make appropriate recommendations for my students.
You’d think that once you used a particular fabric you’d know for certain how to work with it, but the reality is that the shrinkage characteristics change from batch to batch and even among the same batch over time in ambient storage conditions. Some cloths need to be stitched on wet, others stitched on dry, and some completely suck no matter what you do. Do it wrong and you either end up with saggy wrinkly skin or a crushed frame.
This particular nylon was a perfect example. The shrinking technique that worked so well previously with this cloth didn’t work at all so I had to cut the skin off and redo it. Not fun, but a necessary bit of learning. Pretty tired.
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