Finishing the kayaks and making sea socks

Skinning the kayaks

Finally we were ready to skin the kayaks. Everybody made a huge team effort to get ready at the same time. One is covered with canvas and the other 7 is covered with nylon/polyester.

First we covered the hull and one method here is to stretch and then staple the fabric to the gunwales. That is to keep the fabric in place and to make a tight fit before we go on with stitching the fabric. After that we use a variety of stitches to sew the skin together...

And then we add the cockpit coaming.

Here the cockpit coaming is sewn to the skin. Teamwork by George and Peter.

 

After the kayaks are finished, the frame, the skin and all the beautiful stitches we start staining the nylon skin. The canvas gets painted with oil based paint.

After the staining is dry, we varnish 5-6 times. There will be a little more work for the builders when they get back home.

Sea socks (must haves for any skin-on-frame)

Sea socks provide safety for the skin-on-frame kayak paddler. If made correctly, it is the best way to take good care of your skin-on-frame kayak and stay safe. We made ours out of thick canvas. That stays in place and does not get in the way when you enter or exit your kayak. Here Ben is cutting one, getting instructions by Jannie.

Happy people all making sea socks.

Here Anders is mounting one for uncle Dave. We made him one also.

And here we see the finished crafts with sea socks installed, just before the big kayak launch!!

Finally... Here is Chuck! Chuck is a professional in making boat covers out of canvas. He brought a heavy duty sewing machine and was a huge help to all who made sea socks that day. We could not have done it without him. And we learned a lot! Thank you Chuck!