[Paddlewise] Best Construction / Whatever It Costs

>Properly built carbon boats are remarkably strong especially when matched
>to the proper core material and with the fibers properly oriented. Usually
>they are made from epoxy pre-pregs vacuum and heat cured under pressure. I
>had a canoe that was built that way and it was truly remarkable. One of the
>great sins is to use the mixed materials (carbon/Kevlar) cloth. It looks
>sexy but the result is poor.
>
>As Hank Hays says, "Carbon is not all it's cracked up to be"
>
>Cheers,
>John Winters

A manufacturer told me that he puts 3 layers in a sea kayak hull: A 3/4
layer of fiberglass next to the gelcoat, then 2 other layers of fiberglass.
A kevlar hull will have one of the full layers of kevlar, but the 3/4 and
other layer still fiberglass.  He also uses a carbon/kevlar hybrid, and
sometimes a carbon layer.

Do you still consider that a carbon/kevlar hybrid is a "great sin"?

So you have 4 possible materials: fiberglass, kevlar, carbon, or hybrid.
Assuming that you need fiberglass next to the gelcoat, that leaves 2 layers,
each of which can be chosen in 4 ways.  Therefore there are 16 possible
constuctions of the hull.  (Not to mention various choices for the resin.)

WITHOUT CONSIDERING COST AT ALL, what is the best construction if you want
the lightest and strongest boat?

Jerry

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