Re: SH 17 +carbon/kevlar

Posted by Mark Camp on Jan 24, 2006

I don't know if you should use it at all on your boat (Lee G is answering that). I'm not a boatbuilder or designer, but I do know that the pro's tend to use kevlar or carbon over balsa or foam, so that the extreme strength/weight ratio gets a chance to shine: a very light boat. Think about it: over plywood s and g, you are paying a lot to get a relatively smaller weight reduction. (Or, "none", if Lee knows what he's talking about, which he generally does ;-)

Anyway, if you've played with carbon and kevlar, you prob. already know this, but: Kevlar (R) in compression, compared to S-glass is:

--weaker (!!? yeah, I was stunned to learn that!)

--much more expensive

--more difficult to work with.

So if you do have some reason to use it, then put kevlar where it will be in tension. (In tension, some types of kevlars are the strongest commonly used material, per weight, in the world...even slightly stronger than carbon fiber) Note: Carbon's stronger than S-glass in both tension and compression.

(R)Dupont

In Response to: Re: SH 17 +carbon/kevlar by LeeG on Jan 24, 2006

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