[Paddlewise] Life of plastic boats

One of the folding boat enthusiasts (who shall remain nameless, except
to say that he is Ralph Diaz) wrote in his book that plastic boats have
a life of about eight years and then become brittle.

Is this because of UV damage?  Or other chemical breakdown?  Does it
afflict both straght chain and cross-linked polyethylene?

I have my doubts about this assertion because I own a number of
polyethylene objects that are over 20 years old and they are still
flexible and like new.  OTOH, polyethylene left in the sun does indeed
fall apart pretty quick -- a problem that can be solved for kayaks by
proper storage.

Ken Cooperstein


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