> Hello ev'ryone,

SNIP
> The Sea Kayaker article from which I am building says to sew the skin, sew
> on the cockpit rim, and then seal the skin. I am planning on a white oil
> paint and do not want to paint the wood cockpit rim. And if I try to paint
> after the rim is sewn on, there is no way to adequately seal the canvas
> while trying to keep paint off the rim.So, is it ok to first paint the
> skin, then sew on the rim? If I do it in that order, I would think the
> pulling on the skin while sewing the rim on would leave a lot of cracking
> and other damage to the skin... SNIP

Kelly,

The skin is tough as leather after it is sealed and may shrink somewhat depending on what you use. I would recommend that you simply protect the coaming with masking tape while painting the skin and clean it up afterwords.

Greg Stamer