Kevlar Hull

C

charlie foulds

Well-known member
I have a few questions for anybody that uses Kevlar for duckboats. Does kevlar add more weight to your boat? Do you get that "out of the mold" finish? I hunt around some rocky shorelines. Would I be better off with kevlar over fiberglass? I have already purchased my fiberglass cloth, but I can always use it for my next boat build(Broadbill). Where did you purchase it, and what size and weight? Thanks
 
kevlar needs to be under fiberglass because you can't really finish it because the strands resist sanding and it gets fuzzy. I have 5oz kevlar under 6 ounce glass on my snowgoose and I'm really happy with it.
 
Ditto what Tod said, I've got a 5oz layer of Kevlar sandwiched between 2 layers of 6oz glass on the NFZ boat. I picked mine up from Solar Composites, seems like they had the best price at the time. You have to have special shears that are around $50 for the cheapest pair. I used a 5oz harness satin weave. It was supple and fairly easy to wet out. I didn't go over any edges with it so I can't comment on that aspect.

Brad
 
I have a few questions for anybody that uses Kevlar for duckboats. Does kevlar add more weight to your boat? Do you get that "out of the mold" finish? I hunt around some rocky shorelines. Would I be better off with kevlar over fiberglass? I have already purchased my fiberglass cloth, but I can always use it for my next boat build(Broadbill). Where did you purchase it, and what size and weight? Thanks
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Got mine from RAKA, pretty yellow.
 
I'm just curious as to how much weight you guys think it added to your rigs??? How hard/easy is the stuff to work with say vs. the fiberglass cloth???
 
Kevlar will add less weight than fiberglass. Thats one of the reasons kevlar boats are so light.

Its about the same to work with as glass is . Cutting it can be a bit tougher and you definately want to make sure to trim it while its in the "green" stage or you will be using a cutting wheel to cut it once its cured.

If you wait til its half kicked off you can trim it with a roofing knife but you have to change blades much more often then you do with glass.

For cutting the cloth itself, I used to get some scissors from K-mart that would cut it , just had to go thru about 4 pairs/boat. Ican't remember the brand but they worked well.

Remember if you are using epoxy resin that if you are also going to use matting that you get the matting made to use with epoxy

Dave B
 
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