Covering Fir deck with canvas and dope will checking be a problem?

[jeff9232]

I am rebuilding an old wooden Lightning sailboat. I have replaced the plywood deck with what seems to be very good exterior grade fir plywood. The were no voids around the edges or anything and it has ben on the boat since may. I am about to stretch and staple canvas over the deck then shrink/seal with airplane dope and paint then bed some rubrails around the edge to seal the edges which have also been protected with epoxy and paint. Will this "checking" that I've been reading about be a problem under the canvas? and just what is checking anyway? Thanks for any help, I enjoy reading the form!

[Frank Wentzel]

Jeff

Checking in fir plywood means the small cracks that for over the whole surface of the sheet parallel to the grain. It is caused by the "unrolling" and flattening of the veneer in the manufactureing process. Any paint applied over the plywood eventually develops these cracks as well. A layer of glass in epoxy (I.e., reinforced paint) will stop the problem. Your system should also elimiate the possibility of checking.

/// Frank ///

[Bayboat]

I haven't heard of using airplane dope to shrink canvas over a deck. The tried & true way to lay canvas over wood decking, planks or plywood, is to use just about any paint, lay, stretch and staple the canvas, sprinkle water on it, and paint the first (thin) coat while the canvas is still wet. A variation is to use a fungicide paint like Kilz. Another good variation is to lay Irish felt over the fresh-painted wood, then lay the canvas over that, then wet and paint.

[Dave Fleming]

Use a primer or Cuprinol on the wood. Lay Irish Felt with some copper tacks for holding in place.
Lay canvas, lap fell seams, tack, wet out and paint using OIL BASED paint thinned a skotch, before fully dry do it again. Install trim and sail away.
Or instead of paint use Arabol what today is called ***laggers adhesive*** old fishboat standby. The top coat with colour paint of choice.
Arabol or its modern equivalent is water based so the wetting out of the canvas should definitely be adhered to.