: First, Merry Christmas to you and your family!
: Second, thanks so much for your kindly help.

: The skin's materials I had not decided before discuss with you. Now I decide
: use PVC? Because I can not find Hypalon liquid (if you could find, please
: let me know. Then I could try Hypalon and polyester), though it could make
: the skin more lighter and durable.
: But could you please let me which folding kayak manufacturer use PVC as skin
: materials?
: The Hypalon which I could find only 30 inches width. Also can not be solved,
: because sulfuration for soft and abrasion-resist.
: I want to know if polyester can be stick with liquid hypalon.

: I am in Northeast of China. Our city named QingDao or TsingTao.
: Three yeara ago, when I first find there is a thing named "Folding
: Kayak", I know all of my life will be changed. I use all of my salary
: to buy two type from US, and study them, and try to develop a new type
: folding kayak: Cheap and Qualified and Light and easy assemble is my wish.
: For this wish, I give up my job, that’s really crazy.
: Because qualified materials is very difficult to find in China. So my rate of
: progress is very low. I also visited US twice for know the market, one is
: Houston Boat Show, the other is Summer Market in SLC. These trips make me
: know the quality of products is so important.

: I would try to finish the third type out March 2002. And wish this type will
: make me satisfied.

: Sincerely yours,

: Ning

I am not sure if Folbot still uses a PVC fabric or not. They used to.
Otherwise, it is used by many amateur builders on rigid skin-on-frame boats.

Of course this material is very common in inflatable boat construction. Sevylor (www.sevylor.com) uses it and Sea Eagle uses a similar fabric. The inflatable Sea Eagle kayak is in the picture below. (http://seaeagle.co.nz)

The strength of the PVC coated fabric comes from the core material, so pick one that is strong, thick and relatively puncture resistant. Inflatables will slowly lose their shape if the material develops a small leak, but a rigid-framed boat will simply have a minor leak -- something that can be easily bailed out with a sponge or patched quickly with duct tape, or repaired permanently with vinyl glue and a patch.

If you are considering a PVC coated fabric, look into the manufacturing process used by the builders of inflatable boats. I believe they weld each seam with an ultrasonic welder, rather than glue or sew it. This makes VERY STRONG and waterproof seams. If ultrasonic welding is not a technology you can easily acquire, consider having another company do the work for you. Perhaps you can cut the fabric to size and deliver it to the company for assembly. That way you can concentrate on making the frames, and selling the completed boats.

If you are planning to build a boat factory, and you are interested in using Hypalon coated fabrics, then you'll need large quantities of Hypalon liquid. Your best bet would be to contact the manufacturer directly.

PGJ