Boat Building Forum

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sounds like the solarcar layup
By:Brian T. Cunningham
Date: 1/22/1999, 12:13 pm

> I believe that an all Kevlar boat is too flexible and an all glass boat is
> too brittle. One compromise is 2 or 3 layers of Kevlar on the inside and 2
> or 1 layers of glass on the outside.

Yes this is for a car not a boat, but for the monocoque we used 1 layer of weaved cloth of kevlar on the inside, 6 layers of unidirectional carbon fiber, then a final layer of glass.

The layer of glass was for looks, it's easier to finish the glass than the carbon.

The layer of kevlar was for protection. Carbon is brittle. When it breaks it can do _nasty_ things. When the first racecar that was given carbon fiber body work got into a wreck the body work sheared off slicing the drivers legs off like a knife! We put the kelvar on the inside to prevent this, it's known for being tuff. That's why they use it for bullet proof vests. You really don't want to use it for the outer most layer. It shreads when you sand it.

The folks at the local canoe races layup there own boats, hopefully I'll get to work on them this summer.

Messages In This Thread

sounds like the solarcar layup
Brian T. Cunningham -- 1/22/1999, 12:13 pm