On 5 Jun 2003 at 21:44, jwd_at_acm.org wrote: > Their justification was that gelcoat provides no > structural benefit to the boat, and going without it saves 5-8 lbs of > essentially useless weight. Not true. The gelcoat increases the thickness of the hull and provides for greater stiffness. Without the gelcoat, you're more likely to get oilcanning and possibly buckling at the limit of what the kayak can handle. (Unless you beef up the fibre and resin, which negates some or all of the weight saving.) > I guess it protects the glass or kevlar fiber from UV > exposure (does current generation fiberglass and kevlar fabric NEED UV > protection?). Fibreglass does not, but Kevlar and _the_resin_ need protection. At the very least, building without gelcoat means adding a UV coating. Varnish works and is used on strippers with exposed resin. The gelcoat also protects the resin and fibre from impact and abrasion. With the gelcoat, you've got a sacrificial layer. Without the gelcoat, the damage is done to the resin and to the fibres directly. I'd rather not see damage to the main structural element in the composite. > I also know that some in the industry, Tom Derrer of Eddyline among > them, have staked their reputation (and their business) on foregoing > gelcoat. But even Eddyline's high-end "modulus" boats, which are > vacuum bagged glass/kevlar composites, still use a Carbonlite > (polycarbonate?) shell on the outside. Six of one, half dozen of the other. Polycarbonate is a very tough plastic, but it still scratches. I'd rather get regular construction and know I can fix it. The only folks that see a real advantage in kayaks (or canoes) without gelcoat are the racers. They are willing to sacrifice the gelcoat in order to save a few pounds. The rest of us have little need for dropping a few pounds from our kayaks. Next time you see these kayaking friends, check to see if they are so buff that they couldn't lose 10 lbs weight and be more fit! Unless they're national team calibre, their likely wasting time and money on an ultralight boat. Mike *************************************************************************** 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 Jun 05 2003 - 21:19:37 PDT
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