> The problem I have, though, is that the material I can get locally is only
> 90 cm wide.

That leaves you two choices: order from somewhere else, or make do with what you have. If you order from somewhwere else I suggest you try an artist supply store. They typically can get canvas in widths to 6 feet and sometimes 9 or 12 feet wide.(In metric measure that is about 1.9m, 2.8m and 3.7 m respectively).You will pay dearly for the widest material, but it CAN be found.

I got my fabric from Clark-Craft. (www.clarkcraft.com will get you their webpage and from that you can get their phone number and order a free price list, which will have the current cost of this stuff.

> The sheer to sheer distance on the hull is about 88-89 cm at
> the widest point, with the deck around 75cm. So, I cannot use a single
> width of canvas to cover both hull and deck, stitching it together along
> the centre of the deck as suggested in the instructions for this kayak
> (Alaska Recovery-Sea Kayaker mag.) This leaves me with the two ideas I
> had. 1)Use the two widths to cover the hull and deck 'seperately',
> stitching along the sheer on both sides. Or 2), sew the two widths of
> canvas together first to create one 180 cm. width (minus overlap for the
> seam) and use this to cover the whole thing and sew along deck centre.

I'll add to these ideas. Let's look at your second idea. By sewing the two fabric panels together as you describe, your seams are going to be on the center of the deck, and also right along the keel. A snag could do a lot of damage.

I'd prefer to see you piece together your fabric in a different fashion. Make a model of this from a few pieces of paper and you may get the idea faster.

Cut a piece of fabric long enough to cover the hull. It will not be wide enough to wrap around your boat at the widest spot, but it should wrap around near the bow and stern. Find the points fore and aft where your fabric is no longer wide enough to cover the circumference. If you do not yet have the cloth, you can use a tape measure and slide it along the frame to see where the circumference becomes too great.

Let's assume these points are both about 4 feet from the bow and stern on an 18 foot boat. You need to add fabric only to the center part, so that you can make this area wide enough to wrap entirely around the circumference. If your boat is 18 feet long and your single width of fabric covers 4 feet at the front and 4 at the back, then you need to add a piece to the center 10 feet. To be on the safe side, add an extra 3 feet ( about a meter) to this, allowing 18 inches ( half a meter) to go beyond the points you've marked at each end.

So, the length we need for our additonal canvas ( in this example -- yours may be different) is 13 feet. Now for the width! Take your 38 inch wide material cut it 13 feet long, and then cut it in half length wise, so you have two long narrow pieces, about 18 inches wide and 13 feet long.

Sew one of these strips to the left side of your hull canvas, and sew the other one to the right side. The main piece for the hull will have prefinished edges. These are known as selvage edges. After cutting your shorter piece in half, each half will have a long selvage edge and a long rough edge from your cutting efforts. Sew the pieces together so that the selvage edges match, and leave about an inch (25 mm) of material. After you sew these pieces together, fold that inch of material in half, and sew through it to attach it to the shorter piece. A couple rows of stitches are common, usually spaced 1/4 inch apart. ( 5 to 6 mm apart)

Now take this big fabric panel and cover your boat, stitching on the fabric along the center line of the deck, as described in your plans. The seams you added by piecing on the extra material will lie just below the sheer (well above the water line) in the middle of the boat, and come across the center of the deck in a pleasant diagonal line, meeting at the centerline of the deck.

Take extra care in coating these areas when you apply whatever waterproofing materials you are using.

as you sew up the center of the deck, you may be able to trim some excess material that you can use as reinforcement strips along the keel. Laminate them on as I described before.

> It would be in doing this second method that I thought I could make the
> overlap for the seam an inch wide, serving as an extra thick area along
> the keel. My concern in doing this would be the problem you addressed with
> needle holes and thread wicking water. Is this still a problem after
> sealing the canvas with paint or regular outdoor varnish?

Not a problem if the seams are not constantly immersed. That's why I suggest putting the seams as high up the sides as possible, using the method above.

> I really like your idea of making patch material...just hope I never
> really need to use it!

Well, make two boats, and carry this for the other guy!

Hope this helps

Paul G. Jacobson.