Kevlar?

Ben M

Ben M

Active member
Maybe this is a stupid question, but does anyone have experience with kevlar in a build? It's probably prohibitively expensive for use as an all-over-the-boat cloth, but maybe someone has tried it? I'm thinking of possibly using it along the chines, keelsons, bow/stem to provide a little extra abrasion & ding resistance.
 
Ben, Kevlars biggest advantage is its strength per oz. or lb. of weight. Unless you are trying to build an ultra light duck boat, you can accomplish the same end result with more glass. Its just going to weigh more. Kevlar is much harder to work with. It doesnt grind it just fuzzes up,It is hard to repair, you need special scissors to cut it. Kevlar should always be covered with a layer of regular glass. I use tons of it in my boat building business, it saves some weight, but most of all people love hearing that their boat has kevlar in it. In other words its mostly for bragging rights or the wow factor. I put a layer under the glass on my core cell foam and glass duck boat I built last summer, but it was mostly because I had some left over from a big project. hope this helps Rich.
 
I second Rich. We only used it in the tunnel hulled boats where low tip clearance on the large props can create cavitation and additional abrasion. It is hard to work and has to be sanded to get rid of resin then hairs burned back.. then sanded etc.
Frank
Frank@middletonboatworks.net
 
Ben, Kevlars biggest advantage is its strength per oz. or lb. of weight. Unless you are trying to build an ultra light duck boat, you can accomplish the same end result with more glass. Its just going to weigh more. Kevlar is much harder to work with. It doesnt grind it just fuzzes up,It is hard to repair, you need special scissors to cut it. Kevlar should always be covered with a layer of regular glass. I use tons of it in my boat building business, it saves some weight, but most of all people love hearing that their boat has kevlar in it. In other words its mostly for bragging rights or the wow factor. I put a layer under the glass on my core cell foam and glass duck boat I built last summer, but it was mostly because I had some left over from a big project. hope this helps Rich.
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Thanks for the advice!

Weight is a consideration in my build. I'm planning on trailering, but would really like for it to be light enough for a short carry/drag since there have been times when the feeder creeks I launch in are locked up in solid ice. But if it's that hard to work with and I KNOW I really don't have the budget for kevlar . . . hahaha . . .

So, maybe just on the keelsons and stem? Idunno . . . you say I can accomplish pretty much the same thing as kevlar by just using two layers of glass?
 
I second Rich. We only used it in the tunnel hulled boats where low tip clearance on the large props can create cavitation and additional abrasion. It is hard to work and has to be sanded to get rid of resin then hairs burned back.. then sanded etc.
Frank
Frank@middletonboatworks.net
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Thanks Frank . . . by the way, I checked out your website. Gorgeous work!
 
Ben, Frank and I have both paid our dues, our advice comes from real life experience not what we read in a magazine or what a friends cousins uncle did once. Check out www. tributeboats.com Rich.
 
I used kevlar on the bottom of my 10'4" sneak boat. It is definitely had to work with. I wish I had known the bit about burning the fuzz before. I did not use special scissors - other than they were a brand new high quality pair that were not used for anything else (before or since).

I was very careful about every ounce that went into my boat because it was designed to me car-topped and hand-powered. I credit the kevlar for keeping the boat in relatively good condition after de-car-topping in a big gust at about 60mph - and also the fact that it landed in the gravel at the edge of the road rather than directly on the road. The entire bottom of the boat is covered in kevlar with glass over only the sections that would be exposed to more wear.

I also used light weight s-glass on the inside. The fillets were done with oriented strand material rather than just filler as well.

It was expensive - although I got a pretty good deal by getting a "small" piece off e-bay. I haven't seen those kind of deals much anymore.
 
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