I initiated this thread and would like to thank all who replied, especially Messrs. Kruger and Diaz. I do have one or two more questions. Assuming proper storage, it would seem that crystallization is the principal factor in loss of flexibility and resistance to shock of PE.. First, this means that the thickness of the material is not a factor, except that a brittle piece twice as thick is twice as strong anyway. I.e. it is always harder to break 1" thick glass than 1/16" thick glass. Nevertheless, you folks with Feathercrafts still have to worry that your PE cross members are suspect after 8 years. Second, it is astounding that kayak manufacturers do not warn of this latent defect. I know they don't because no such warning came with my 1997 roto Sealution XL. Your roto yak looks the same after 10 years, only it is so crystallized that the first big sea you fall off (or the first waterfall you boof off for the WW crowd) will reduce it to shards. Moreover, the conditions under which such a failure are likely to occur are also likely to result in serious injury or death. Needless to say, to the extent that this starts to happen, there will be opportunities for new kayak companies, because none of the old ones will survive. Ken Cooperstein (also a Greenland II owner, BTW) *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Dec 07 1998 - 08:08:42 PST
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