How tough is the Dacron skin?
The good: It will withstand a serious impact like bouncing onto a boulder. There are no problems stepping on it; a 2 ft. square panel will withstand a 400 # person standing on it. Dogs are said to cause no trouble to the skin. The bad: It cuts easily against sharp objects like broken glass, but it is easy to repair. Now comes the tricky part …It is almost impossible to rip the bare fabric, But a coat of varnish or paint that soaks into the fabric renders a loss of ripstop quality. The answer is that there are a number of sealing coatings that do not soak into the cloth weave such as; an iron on mylar film (MonoKote). You’ll find additional information on this page for optional strengthening techniques. Your need for a tougher skin will depend on how you intend to use your boat. We always encourage using a double layer of Dacron, but many people do not. Some customers have chosen to replace Dacron with 1/4″ plywood (on the hard-chine boats such as the Car-Topper 9). They find the end
