> From: "Davis, Stephen G FOR:EX" <Stephen.Davis_at_gems4.gov.bc.ca> > What I have often wondered is why I have never seen an aluminum sea kayak? > The toughest, badest power boats on the west coast here are made out of > welded aluminum. Folders use it for their framing. Grumman has made aluminum > canoes for years. So why not kayaks? Too expensive? Too hard to work with? There *was* a neat homemade aluminum boat in Seakayaker recently, which made me wonder the same things. I would guess there are two problems. One, it would be expensive. That's a lot of cutting, caulking and riveting, especially the blind riveting. Second, and this is speculation, if you did get tossed around or wrapped in the rocks, the boat could bend and trap you inside owing to the ductility of aluminum. Most other boats will bounce back or shatter. -- mike ----------------------------------- Michael Edelman medelman_at_ameritech.net http://www.foldingkayaks.org http://www.findascope.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Feb 27 2003 - 11:50:01 PST
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