John Winters wrote: > ...SNIP.. > One of the > great sins is to use the mixed materials (carbon/Kevlar) cloth. It looks > sexy but the result is poor. ... John, I am hoping that you can elaborate on the above. I was talking to a well-respected Seattle boat designer who suggested that carbon/kevlar weaves are an excellent material for kayaks from the standpoint of durability. (Fortunately I haven't yet acted on his advice.) He claimed that the carbon/kevlar weave avoids the excessive brittleness of carbon and the excessive flex of kevlar. To back up his claims, he has some "squares" of various composites (complete with gel coat) which he bangs on with a hammer to simulate the effects of impacts. (Some of you may know to whom I am referring.) The carbon/kevlar weave did in fact seem to tolerate this treatment quite well. I had been planning to order another kevlar boat, as I have found my current kevlar boat to be quite resilient, in spite of rather rough treatment. (I have gouged out the gel coat where I have had heavy impacts with barnacle-encrusted reefs, but I have had no gel coat cracks or any other damage.) However I was told that the carbon/kevlar weave would be even more durable than kevlar. It is difficult to get information on this new material. Any experiences that you might be willing to share would be most appreciated, as the stuff ain't cheap. We certainly don't want any more paddlewisers to hear the sound of one hull cracking! Dan Hagen Bellingham, Washington *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Apr 29 1998 - 09:20:53 PDT
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