At the Kayak Again

In November I started building a skin-on-frame kayak on my front porch with reused materials. By the end of the weekend I had most of the frame finished. The next day the temperature plunged to a high of 20 degrees and stayed that way until now. For those months no work could be done, I found the wood too brittle and would crack at the slightest touch. Two days ago it got above freezing and I started work again. I touched up the frame and made sure it was relative sound. I know this is really just a prototype so I am not going to sweat it too much, I won't use it past this fall to be safe. This is a composite picture of the naked frame right side up:
And upside down. That is the front porch on which I have built this whole thing:
In order to skin this I tried something new for me: canvas. With nylon you waterproof it with polyurethane, but canvas was the traditional solution prior to the invention of synthetic cloth. I pulled the canvas over the frame and tacked it down with a staple gun as tight as I could.
I then used a curved needle to hand-sew a running stitch and then a whip stitch which leaves an awesome Frankenstein-like seam down the deck of the kayak. The next step is steam bending the cockpit rim, sewing it in, and then painting it. Given the name of Phoenix, I have some graphic design ideas that should look stunning.