RE: [Paddlewise] Boat Building with group or class?

>
> Stitching technique, and stretching it well enough so that it's
> properly tight everywhere. I'm thinking that if I get some good
> personal instruction/supervision as I sew my first one, I'll have the
> confidence to do subsequent projects myself.
Melissa,

FWIW, as a string musician I'm sure you have more than enough finger
dexterity to handle the stitching with good technique, and probably make a
surgeon jealous as well.  The technique itself is something that can
practiced off the boat.  The thing that I liked about the sewing, even being
all thumbs, vs. the wood working, is that in most circumstances you can just
remove the stitches and try it again.

Stretching the skin for proper tightness is pretty straight forward.  I
would strongly recommend a pair of canvas pliers, however.  You already live
on all of the good sites, so you probably have all the tips and tricks.  I
used a lot of staples along the gunwales to get the hull tight, and pulled
the them gradually as I sewed the deck seams.  I used canvas, and not nylon,
however.

By the time I got to the skinning I had realized that I wasn't capable of
producing a museum quality boat in my first try.  Once I saw the way a boat
covered with sealskin looked, I really stopped worrying about it.  (See my
slideshow of the Alaska Native Heritage Center if you're interested.
(http://aaron-cunningham.com  Personal -> Vacations/Trips -> Alaska 2003 ))
I think Nick Schade mentioned recently (I think on KBBBS) that essentially a
skin would have to so floppy as to be unstretched to have a significant
performance impact.

Wow, sorry, that really sounds close to a lecture.  Sorry.  Hope to see
pictures of your Night Hawk in the near future.

Happy Paddling.

Aaron

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