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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Durability
Posted By: Tim Mattson In Response To: Re: Durability (Ian Johnston)
Date: Monday, 22 January 2001, at 10:52 a.m.
You raise good points about Kevlar. Let me expand a bit.
I have two kevlar boats. I will eventually have more as I convert to "an
all kevlar" fleet (accept for my Feathercraft khatsalano which is haplon).My two boats are instructive of what can be done with kevlar. One is a
Seda Glider. In this boat, the kevlar was used to conserve weight. It is
light (just over 40 pounds in a 19 foot boat). I had them leave off the
gelcoat to make the boat as light as possible. It is fragile and has
little UV resistance.My other boat is a heavy Looksha Sport. I bought this boat for serious abuse
in the surf. It is kevlar, but its not light at all (I don't know its precise weight, but its got to be over 50 pounds -- and this is in a short 14 foot boat). My Looksha is the strongest boat I've ever paddled. I've smashed
into rocks, been dumped by waves onto peable beaches -- I've been to hell
and back with this boat and other than cosmetic damage to the gelcoat,
it is in great shape.So you are all right -- not all kevlar boats are strong. But at the same
time, the toughest boats money can buy are made of Kevlar.All this aside, I like plastic boats as well. Since they are so much less
expensive, you can abuse them shamelessly without feeling bad. For example,
a couple years ago, I was going surfing for the day with my plastic
sea kayak (an old sea lion). I didn't want to carry the 80 pound boat
across the beach, but had no where to properly launch it near my car.Fortunately, next to the beach was a long jetty that I could park my
car on top of. So I took my plastic boat off the car, and threw it off
the edge of the jetti. The boat bounced and smashed its way across the
rocks and eventually landed in the water. I scrambled down a ways, and
dove in after it. After a quick re-entry roll and some pumping, I was
on my way to the surf-zone playground.I'd never do that to my expensive kevlar boats. They would have
held up, but the scratchs and chips in the gelcoat would have
been more than I can bear. Scratching a sub-1000 dollar plastic boat half
way through its UV-shortened life span is something I'll do casually.
Willfully banging up my 3000 dollar kevlar boat only part way into
its very long life span is not something I'll lightly do.I feel this is a good part of the reason plastic boats have a reputation
for toughness. They are in-expensive, so you will comfortably abuse them
more.Someone is going to respond and contractict me, so let me say for the
record, I know, the "expense-factor" is not the whole story. Plastic
baots are more flexible so certain direct impacts with sharp rocks
(or falling off a car) may result in a dent rather than a crack. But
still, all in all, a heavy lay-up kevlar or glass boat is more durable (and more repairable) than a plastic boat.For just one more data point (and then I really do need to get back to
wrok) watch a Tsunami Ranger video some time. Do you see them in
plastic boats? If my memory seves me correctly, most of those boats
are kevlar and the ones that aren't are fiberglass.--Tim
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