Subject: Re: [baidarka] the boat!
From: Paul MacIntyre (pfmac@mindspring.com)
Date: Thu Dec 13 2001 - 18:36:41 EST
Yes I'm serious. I live in the S.F. bay area. Steamers and irons let you
shrink specific areas whereas misting and drying the whole boat shrinks the
skin overall. The key is using both moisture and heat ( it doesn't take a
lot of heat). I've included below a posting from George Dyson from 1995
that may help you.
Paul- seriously, really , honest
Re: Skinning a kayak
George Dyson (rowlf.cc.wwu.edu!gdyson@imagelan.com)
Mon, 19 Jun 1995 07:53:29 -0700 (PDT)
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Date: Mon, 19 Jun 1995 07:53:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Dyson <rowlf.cc.wwu.edu!gdyson@imagelan.com>
To: "donald l. owens" <76250.453@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: Skinning a kayak
In-Reply-To: <950619055749_76250.453_CHK45-2@CompuServe.COM>
Message-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.91.950619074047.9546A-100000@rowlf.cc.wwu.edu>
The difference is that nylon absorbs atmospheric (or oceanic) moisture
whereas polyester doen't. So if you apply dry heat to nylon, it tightens
up significantly simply from driving the moisture out which will make your
skin drum tight, but when it coools off and reabsorbs moisture from the
air it will loosen up again (in fact it may be looser, since the force
exerted in tightening may have stretched it). Moist heat however loosens
(by swelling the fibers) and shrinks (by releasing polymeric tension) at
the same time and permanent shrinkage results. For the first few cycles,
moisture alone will do this, which is why slight pre-shrinking with water
is a good idea to avoid a skin that gets too tight later on its own. The
skin you are using (26oz) has already been partially heat-set but it
still has about 3 percent shrinkage left. I regularly get asked what to
do now that the skin is too tight, rarely, rarely what to do if its too
loose. Which is unfortunate since the latter is remediable, the former
hard to correct. My advice is to take a couple good sized squares off the
corners of your fabric that won't be used, staple them over a wood frame
like an artist's canvas, and go through the process to get a feel for it
before experimenting on your boat. The skin will always be tighter when
dry and arm, looser when cool and wet, so you are aiming for middle ground.
George B. Dyson gdyson@henson.cc.wwu.edu
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----------
>From: wayne steffens <wsteffen@skypoint.com>
>To: baidarka@paddlewise.net
>Subject: Re: [baidarka] the boat!
>Date: Wed, Dec 12, 2001, 8:36 PM
>
> At 05:49 PM 12/12/01 -0800, you wrote:
>>I've had great results from misting the boat with a spray bottle and
>>leaving it in the sun to dry.
>
> Are you serious? This really constitutes "heat" shrinking? Do you live in
> Yuma by chance? If not, then I can just mist it and turn up the furnace for
> an hour or two. Why bother with steamers and irons?
>
>
> Wayne
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