Skin on Frame Kayak Complete. Poor man's Fiberglass? Kinda!

In this video, we finish the skin on frame kayak. Similar to poor man's fiberglass in that the skin is fabric that is painted. This is the Chuckanut15, plans available on Duckworks.com. This is a great kayak design! I recommend it for anybody that wants a stable, super fast, light kayak.

[@dr123hall]

Just great job! Nice looking framework, like art, could hang up for view! Need that seat back and foot pegs for real use. Put skeg on any kayak to save constant track recovery.

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Thanks! Really appreciate your comments and suggestions.

[@qaannat]

There are better ways to build a kayak, but you are on the general right track. Keep on building!

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Thanks! I thought it came out pretty well

[@10FingersWoodworking]

Looks great! Love it

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Thanks!

[@AlarianDarkwind]

Put a little sand in the paint and then paint the seats. It will be perfect for non-skid

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Sounds like a great idea. I ended up getting the grip tape the skateboarders use, which also works good, but will try the sand next time. Thanks!

[@kwatt-engineer796]

Love watching unusual methods of building small boats Just a question, Why not us epoxy resin? Amazon sells two gallon kits for less than $100 delivered to your doorstep,

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

I got the paint for free! Also, I did a pair of standup paddle boards. One was with the poor man's fiberglass - paint on fabric, and the other was epoxy on fiberglass. The paint on fabric is holding up great, and the fiberglass is trash. I think that the epoxy isn't going to do well in sunlight without some sort of UV protection, but additionally, as just a protective barrier, the epoxy doesn't seem to work out too well. If I put on enough to make a hard shell, it may have worked out ok. Or maybe the cheap epoxy isn't great for boats. Not sure, but the paint works surprisingly good. Thanks for the comment

[@kwatt-engineer796]

@@arichardofalltrades6770 If you have any further interest in epoxy , you could use aluminum paint over the eopxy. Aircraft builders use this on fabric covered planes for UV protection. the aluminum flakes are a much more effective UV barrier than pigmented paints. If you have an interest in a taut covering, aircraft dacron can be heat shrunk after application for a smooth tight cover. The last time I looked, you could buy dacron that is OK for experimental aircraft much cheaper than dacron for certified aircraft . It can also be purchased in different weights. I did build a kayak where I used a fabric skin saturated with epoxy. Then I fiber glassed the fabric and finished it off with latex house paint. That combo worked great. Messing around with small boat building is lots of fun where you can experiment without breaking the bank.

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Thanks for the tips! I appreciate your input, and will give it a try.

[@ronaldharris6569]

It sits high in the water and that's a good thing

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

I guess so - it's really fast for the effort you put into it. Thanks for your observation

[@noyopacific]

Re. "stainless" staples at 6:23 . That's why the alloy is called "stain-LESS," and not "stain- FREE !" 😜 Just kidding, thanks for the video !

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Thanks for watching! Sometimes it's tough to avoid certain everyday items.

[@Lorelly5]

Cool concept -I’m impressed it held up in the water -& your weight I noticed you didn’t do your first couple layers with titebond 2 glue then put the acrylic latex paint on after? We’ll done ✔️

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

There is another boat I did with jut the paint and it is working great. Seems like the Titebond works well, but isn't an absolute requirement. At least from my experience. Thanks for the comments!

[@Blueskyvfr]

Original PMF boats did not use titebond glue because it didn’t exist. There are some examples of original pmf boats that have lasted decades. Titebond works great but most people use it because it’s cheaper than most paint by the gallon.

[@RJ-jx3dy]

Amazing. I may have missed it, but how much does it weigh?

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

That would have been a good thing to mention! It weighs just under 40 lb. Maybe less if I used oil based paint. Thanks for asking.

[@PeterJames143]

Cool. I had no idea you could do that. Will any cloth work? Any oil based paint or latex? Thx. Im curious how that would hold up with long term immersion. I know you wont keep the kayak in the water for long periods of time but i have something slightly different in mind.

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

I've used natural fibers with my previous projects with better results. The instructions called for oil paint, but I used latex. I think it would work just fine for long periods immersed, but can't say for sure. If you try it, I would suggest keeping a close eye on it for a while. Thanks for the comment

[@dr123hall]

Latex paint is not the old latex, works well on canvass (for years) The cloth used on piper cubs had poly/dacron with “dope” finish, I used concrete sealer and it is just fine. Don’t like staples. Used heat gun to shrink cloth. All my experience, used brass screws. I messed up my kayaks tracking but 19’ and 21’ easy to track with a skeg set-up.

[@jamesstrength21]

Would you say that this could be used to line a diy backyard pool?

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

It might, but you'd be going out on a limb on that one. Cool idea, especially if it works!

[@othername1000]

where did you find the fabric?

[@arichardofalltrades6770]

Ebay. Tried locally, but nobody had what I needed. Thanks