Angler,

welcome and a wonderful goal.  a couple thoughts.

there is a tremendous breadth of skill and ability represented in this community.   that said, most of the expertise represented here and skills will be oriented toward wood-cored composite boats that are certainly the equal if not lighter than most 'kevlar' production sea-kayaks....but would not be focused on building exclusively with kevlar if that is what you actually want to use.

while kevlar is sometimes discussed in this forum, it would be focused on a particular part that might warrant the use of kevlar (e.g., seam tape), but not the wholesale use of kevlar which for most home-builders requires tools and techniques that most folks here are not going to invest in (e.g., vacume bagging, special cutters and the expense of kevlar itself.) on top of that, kevlar, like carbon fibre, does not wet out clear when used in construction....so if you are looking for the look of wood, kevlar is not a suitable fabric to get that result.

i guess more to the point, i would ask you to comment if your objective is more about a lightweight sea kayak.....or if you have a particular attachment to building a 'kevlar' boat.   the community can help you better if we know a little bit more about what you are trying to accomplish.

as a quick note....i am finishing up an 18 foot strip-built high performance touring sea kayak....that is coming in at around 42 lbs (no kevlar involved).  as a rough comparison, below are some lay-up examples and costs from the QCC website that builds a comparable 18 foot boat http://www.qcckayaks.com/kayak_select.asp?model=q700x:

Fiberglass Construction - 52 lbs. (MSRP $2,899)

Kevlar Construction - 48 lbs. (MSRP $3,299)

Kevlar/Carbon Construction - 43 lbs. (MSRP $3,599)

Carbon Construction - 41 lbs. (MSRP $3,799)

before tools, my total kit, consumables costs will come in at around $1,500

hope that helps....if you can give us more color on what you want to do....we can provide more help

While I am not necessarily qualified to weigh in on kevlar construction, or the comparison of various laminates, I just wanted to chime in to appreciate your well thought out answer and one that is helpful to me, although I did not have that particular question in mind to start with.

Thank you!

Eric

���Hspira , thank you for your valid points. I'm planning to make a custom kayak of which would be ideal for fishing; with a sleek new age look. Any suggestions or objections are really appreciated.

   CLC has a section on kayaks appropriate for fishing:

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/kayak-kits/fishing-kayaks/

I have made a strip built ocean "play" kayak that is 17 feet long by 20 inches wide. I really like it, and it's great for it's intended purpose, but I don't think I could fish from it because it's too narrow (likely to capsize if I were to catch a big fish that pulled to one side) and there's really no place for fishing equipment, or even to put a fish. So, like you, I've been thinking about a fishing kayak.

In the first place, you can, of course, buy a new or used sit-on-top fishing kayak, often for very reasonable prices. However, I'm thinking of doing something in the way of a strip built kayak designed for fishing.

In paddling off the coast of Ventura County, Ca., I've often paddled into "bait balls," where pelicans, sea otters and dolphins are feeding. I want a kayak I can paddle offshore into these areas where I think the fishing would be good. Since I'm infected with the idea of making another strip-built kayak, I'm thinking of taking a wider kayak design and modifying it for fishing.

I'm thinking of making a Great Auk: 

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/strip-planked-kayaks/auk-kayaks/great-auk-17-strip-planked-sea-kayak-kit.html

Or perhaps even a High Capacity Great Auk:http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/strip-planked-kayaks/auk-kayaks/high-capacity-great-auk-extended-touring-kayak-kit.html

This is about as far as I've gone with this process...I'm daydreaming how I might modify the cockpit for fishing, where I would store equipment, etc., whether I might try to do something in a open cockpit that drains, etc. There are easier ways to do this, of course...

   I work with kevlar every day at my 9-5. Its abrasion resistance is horrible but its strength is great. what makes you want to use it?

Angler X....

thanks for the additional information....sounds like we know a lot more about what you are trying to accomplish.

looks like Careybob came up with some really nice examples of lightweight fishing-oriented kayaks on the CLC site.

in addition to CLC offereings, if you do a quick internet search on the term 'fishing kayak kits' and spend a little time you will see a lot of kit ideas from other kit vendors that might strike your fancy.  as an example, this site came up  http://www.clcboats.com/shop/kayak-kits/fishing-kayaks/   with a focus on skin-on-frame construction.  while not kevlar, its amazing if 'light-weight' is critical....how low you can go.

one of the things you will find is any boat building project is going to be a set of trade-offs between multiple objectives.  speed vs stability, strength vs weight, complexity vs ease of build, cost vs budget....and there are multiple ways to approach trying to solve these trades (that's why there are so many designs and building approaches)

have a look around and don't hesitate to throw your questions out here and we will do the best we can helping you out.

howard

���axemanmcfly, what brings me to want and use Kevlar is the strictly the experience in working with the material. Secondly the look of kelvar is very appealing