RE: [Paddlewise] Boat Strength, Weight and a rescue

From: Peter Treby <ptreby_at_ozemail.com.au>
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 16:27:29 +1000
Dave Whyte wrote:
"I think, If I remember correctly, that the boat
was exceptionally light - 19 Feet long and only 16 kgs called a raiderX."

This confirms my suspicions. I thought the hull shape was familiar.
The Raider X is one of the boats that worried me by having such a weak deck
it can be depressed with one finger, in parts. I am not surprised to hear
that a Raider X fell to pieces in an offshore reef break.
These boats have a "podded" seat: the front and sides of the seat are
extended to the hull and it forms a bulkhead. I was thinking of buying a
second hand boat of this type recently, and test paddled, and closely
examined it. It had a stress fracture where the podded seat met the thin
hull underneath. A gel coat repair had been done, but the fracture had
re-opened. One local owner of the Raider X has gone to the trouble of having
that point reinforced, less than a year after buying the new, kevlar laid-up
boat.
The photograph seems to show the boat broken at or near the point where the
podded seat meets the hull. This is a serious stress point for a thin hull.
This stress occurs at a place where the boat is widest, and the hull
relatively flat.
A good photograph for boat manufacturers to put in their showrooms and point
to when buyers are after excessively light boats.
Regards,
Peter Treby
37º 42' S  145º 08' E



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Received on Wed Oct 11 2000 - 23:06:21 PDT

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