I forgot to ask permission to forward the reply to the original poster, or
to the originating forum, as required. Do I have permission to post
responses back to Kayak Bulletin Board or just the original poster?
Paul
> > "Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts about making a skin on frame
>with
> > hemp canvas, I figured it would work well, the old dutch boats had to
>have
> > been made out of hemp, canvas is the old duch word for cannabis.
>
>When I was looking for different fabrics to make some transportation bags,
>I looked into linen and
>hemp. Compared to canvas, hemp is more abrasion resistant and it withstands
>saltwater better. It is
>definitively more rot resistant than cotton. I believe hemp takes on more
>water than cotton (30%)
>but doesn't change shape that much when wet (it will probably shorten a bit
>as most natural fibers
>will do). You can dye hemp very easily both with synthetic and natural
>colors.
>The old folding boat makers used a mix of cotton, hemp and linen until
>growing hemp was forbidden
>and synthetical fibers could be produced cheaper.
>
>Hemp can be and is grown without using pesticides et al., thus making it
>the choice for people who
>look at lowest-impact-possible-materials. Nowadays it can be purchased in
>qualities comparable to
>woven cotton canvas. When I was in Nepal in 1996, one could purchase all
>kinds of qualities for a
>very cheap price (since I was backpacking then, I didn't like the idea of
>transporting some 20 kg's
>in addition to my luggage ...). I am sure you'll get locally woven fabrics
>in the U.S.
>
> > What weight fabric would work best though?
>
>I'd go for some 500g/mē just to be on the safe side.
>
> > I know Klepper uses "a proprietary weave of Egyptian cotton and hemp"
>for
> > the deck, but have they ever used it for skin material?
>
>Until Klepper changed to Hypalon in the 70's, they used natural rubber with
>cotton as core material.
>They never used cotton or hemp as material for skins, AFAIK.
>
>I am not even sure whether they use hemp as part of their deck material.
>I'll ask at Pouch (they use
>the same material as Klepper).
>
>Marian Gunkel
>Rostock, Germany
> http://www.mariangunkel.de
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