As far as I can tell, the Skin Boat School is the entity that originally made this particular method popular, to be used in conjunction with their 2-part urethane skin coating (which I have heard can be highly sensitive to the amount of dye used on the fabric, and the coating itself cannot be readily tinted). I see no story about the method's development, so I don't know which came first, the dye technique or the finicky coating.

Others have used successfully used the same dying method with different coatings FWIW.

I'm not sure that any other fabric dyed after skinning using the same method, for the reasons that you mention.

Tinted coatings are IMO the easier (?) materials to use, but there are a lot of methods and materials that work just fine, and all seem to have their own particular of drawbacks.

: Why are you using dye now, after you've stretched the fabric?

: Usually fabric dyes are used on the bolts or pieces of cloth, before cutting
: and sewing. This makes it easy to dip the fabric so it soaks up the dye
: evenly. Some dyes need to be used hot. The fabric might be boiled in the
: dye vat, or it might require ironing to 'set' the dye.
: You are way past the point to properly use most fabric dyes--so why do it?
: At this point you might think of using a tinted urethane or polyurethane
: varnish. Or maybe a coat of thinned paint.

: It is time to seal the fabric and waterproof it so you can paddle the boat.
: There are many tinted finishes available, or you can buy a clear finish
: and add a few drops of colorant and tint it yourself.

: Go light. Adding coats of your waterproofing material will deepen the color.
: When it looks good, finish with a coat of clear.

: Just a thought

: PGJ