: Bill Hamm,

: I am seeking your advice for my next boat build. Even tho my whitewater creek
: boat is still in the works, I am already planning out my next boat build.
: I will be building a Yost-style (plywood stations) build of a
: to-be-determined design (probably one I've had on hold for a little bit).
: But I am very very curious about your skinning technique, and am thinking
: of giving it a shot.

: From different posts, I've gathered that you cover your frame with
: heat-shrinkable Dacron, iron that to drum tight, and then cover that with
: 4oz glass and epoxy just as any other boat..? I've done some searching on
: here to see if you had a more detailed description, and I have come up
: short (read: you post a lot, and I got tired of searching through the
: mountains of posts) So, hopefully my laziness is forgiven if you did
: have a long post back there~

: I have two questions about this covering method: 1. Do you fill the weave of
: the Dacron with epoxy before applying the glass (with a roller perhaps)??
: and 2. Do you apply a varnish after the Epoxy has cured, or do you use
: something crazier like Coelan to fill the weave of the glass while also
: acting as a UV inhibitor...?

: From what you've said, its a strong covering for Skin boats, and the build
: process of it seems more appealing to me. It also seems like a good Skin
: for use all year round, and that I wouldn't have to worry as much about
: sagging and/or wrinkles. As always, any advice is greatly appreciated~

Answers to the two questions;

1) Yes I fill the Dacron with resin first, brushed on working the resin into the cloth. Btw remove any dacron fibers that the brush pulls up as they are nearly impossible to remove after the resin's cured. The epoxy is applied as lightly as possible, your only goal is to coat the surface to make a decent surface for the glass to be applied to.

2) Any normal varnish or paint may be used to finish the boat. The West 105/207 resin has some UV resistance but not enough to be fully UV resistant. No difference here than you'd use covering a strip or S&G boat.

Bill H.