19 - Covering the framing (takes time)

Well following on from the prior mistake of not buying enough of the red I was planning to use in my covering project, I got more PVC. At the time of the error, I was pretty annoyed but that passed. life gave me a lemon, so I will make lemonade. I knew there was already a "Red Barron" in Western Europe so I think that was the universe telling me to take a different direction.

With the PVC I have. yes, it is an error but I will use it again to cover the project still and have a heap of it left over for projects including oar covers, kit bags, custom luggage and other things I am yet to think of.

So off to the wholesale canvas where I trot, we laugh about it and if I hadn't cut it down the middle, they would have taken it back. I will still use it as mentioned earlier. When I went to get the 2nd roll, I was so tempted to get it as a very heavy-duty clear. even if it was only to be "temporary". Just something to have a laugh about with people as they see it on the water or on drives to launch it elsewhere like up at Noosa.

We make sure that we have the right amount this time and off I roll home in the old ute. Using the same method as in the last post, I cut it straight up the middle, and I'm happy. I know I have heaps left over this time. at least 1.2 to 1.5m.

From this point, I'm more-or-less following the process as detailed in the Yost Werks process on how to cover a skin-on-frame Kayak in PVC.

http://yostwerks.org/WoodSOFSkinMenu.html

There will be some variations as I go through the process but I will try to detail this. from this point, my staple gun gets used a lot. Like soo much. With my workshop being under the garage and having a compressor with a small tank, it cycled often to refill.

I really recommend that you have an electric or pneumatic staple gun. Handguns don't seem to have the kick required in the project and with how many staples I used to cover this thing, you need the help.

I will provide what photos I have. it is at around this point that other work really began to get my attention and my skills in small project building were requested by others. so I got distracted by other projects. I now have a good understanding of making speaker cabinets and that MDF will turn into talcum powder as soon as a power tool looks sideways at it. Next time someone else can try to paint an ultra-high gloss on them.

when I get time again in the quiet moments, I will get a greater depth into what I did to cover the hull. It took lots of time and I'm still far from happy with the result. This said the hull is now "skinned".

Be proud of your tools but remember that some tools can use a "cheaper" option. There is nothing wrong with Ryobi when you know how to use it. That's an off-cut of the foam I used for floatation. In this case, it was also nice to stand on when working on the hard floor for so long. It was also a cushion for my back given that I still have the strong back in the garage.

I started in the middle of the frame and folded the PVC under the gunwale. Then the staple gun really began to make some impact. a matching pair of shots on the left and the right was required. and slowly I began to creep to the ends.

PVC isn't as flexible or forgiving with regard to folds in the fabric. The overall shape of the frame is not able to keep the overall shape of the PVC flat. My goal was/is to keep it all one piece.

I used flat jaw vice grips to hold the edge of the PVC taught so I could put staples in.

This clamp was really useful to hold the PVC. It offered a wide pulling area to keep the skin tight. Unlike polyester or nylon, I can not shrink to fit the frame. I have to do it now or it will be variable later. I will not set any speed records with this build. I just want it to float and that I don't go for a drink.

For those in the know, Bull Sharks in the Brisbane river are a real thing and I really don't want to meet them.

Once the PVC (do I call it fabric because it's not a film), was near the ends, I rolled it over and began to chase the bead of staples and un-picking a few to heat up areas to stretch the PVC over the frame tighter in areas. I was doing this in April - June of 2022 so it was beginning to cool off in the garage. The heat gun was nice to have to soften the PVC to get better "flow" over the frame.

This is where the project really began to have a feel of "getting it done. It kinda looks like it will float. Test fitting the inspection ports and the kit bag was good. Kinda lets me see more.

Here you can kinda see the bit of fabric I was using the baffle to exhaust air from the back of the staple gun and one of the clamps I was using to pull the PVC.

You can never have too many clamps. I was using this setup to hold the gun in place.

That's about it for now. It was about here that I took a break for other projects.