Sunday, December 14, 2008

SOF Update


Got another coat of paint on my SOF. I posted a question on the Greenland Kayak Forum about my painting. I was concerned that even though I feel I am using the right amount of paint, and it appeared to be soaking into the canvas, it never actually came through the other side. I wasn’t sure if it should have been completely saturated through. Responses indicated I’m on track and everything is okay.

Choosing a color was hard (actually for me everything was easy till I got to the skinning part, then I agonized about every detail and stitch, and now finishing). On canvas with paint, you get an opaque and solid covering and not the transparent staining and tinting on nylon and polyester which is so appealing on SOFs. So I wanted what I thought would be a very rich looking color.

In the end I decided on a darker color (because the white hull of my fiberglass NKD Explorer always seems so dirty) that would still give some contrast with the black deck lines. At the local Lowes, I found a brand of oil based exterior paint, Columbia Fast Hide, I liked the brand name, and I liked both the color and name of the paint I choose “Tree Bark”.

I plan to decorate the boat somehow, but want it to be subtle and very low contrast. Still no good ideas on this, but I think my chocolate like brown will allow something interesting, possibly with some black and red paint.

While doing my research on finishes, I found no end to various ideas of colors and decorations. This one really shows some ingenuity. It’s a tie-died nylon, and also interesting is the bamboo used to build the kayak.

2 comments:

Captn O Dark 30 and Super Boo said...

good to see stewart boat works is still in operation even in these difficult times. has a SOF ever completed an EC??

SandyBottom said...

A more traditional syle of SOF has not entered one that I know of, but fabric covered folding expedition kayaks like FeatherCraft have finished EC's and a UFC.