Another question: Most of the kayak's that are made with a Kevlar/Carbon option seem to mostly have only the hulls done this way, with the decks remaining with a high fiberglass mat content. Full Kevlar seems to be a very expensive additional option. Is this normal? Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I would think that with Kevlar's main advantage being impact resistance that concentrating it in the hull would be it's greatest use. Impact resistance doesn't seem to be as critical on the deck. Mark > -----Original Message----- > From: Doug Lloyd > > Another question: Most of the kayak's that are made with a Kevlar/Carbon > option seem to mostly have only the hulls done this way, with the decks > remaining with a high fiberglass mat content. Full Kevlar seems > to be a very expensive additional option. Is this normal? *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
[Please remove all old content that is not pertinent to your reply including old headers and footers. It's list policy.... this post was modified to meet policy] Marketing IMO Kevlar is expensive and it is cheaper to say "I am selling you a Kevlar boat", but then use only 1/2 the kevlar. It is hard to cut which probably increases further the labor costs when done on the deck with all the cutouts. I suspect that much of the cost of Kevlar is the increased labor costs of dealing with this material which is harder to handle. In the hull the builder can use it and the owner can look down at that "gold" fabric and be happy and in the deck you cannot see it. I see no reason why you would not want it in the deck if you wanted Kevlar at all. One use for Kevlar is to make a "strong" very lightweight boat. But I do not think such boats are useful in the surfing rock garden world. They are more for racing or flat water. I like stiff boats. I had one Kevlar boat that oil canned horribly and progressively until I finally added more glass as it was getting stress fractures as it road on the roof of my car on bad roads. Stiffness goes up dramatically as the thickness of the layup increases. One you have a layup that is thick enough for my taste it is pretty strong in just glass (S-glass) But to use mat in the deck and Kevlar in the hull makes no sense to me. Mat is not as strong as glass cloth and the deck does contribute to the overall strength of the boat. There is lots of stress on the deck with hydraulics of surf and T-rescues and people sitting on their boats etc. If you wanted a really strong boat, I would be getting a heavy (extra layers of S-glass) type of boat. Make sure getting good resin. (vinylester or epoxy) On May 1, 2007, at 10:34 PM, Doug Lloyd wrote: > Another question: Most of the kayak's that are made with a Kevlar/ > Carbon option seem to mostly have only the hulls done this way, > with the decks remaining with a high fiberglass mat content. Full > Kevlar seems to be a very expensive additional option. Is this normal? > > Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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