Carbon vs Kevlar vs Fiberglass

[Jim Dodd]

Recently Mike McCrea started a thread on material choices for a canoe build.

I found this on You tube, and thought it interesting. I didn't want to add it to Mike's Excellent thread, so I thought I'd start a new one. I already learned I've made some mistakes, but thought I'd share with others, so they don't follow this Sheep over the wrong fence !
This is the shortened version. I'd advise to check out the longer version, as well as other videos.
Hoping this helps !



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4eNFAJIeHI

Sorry for the run around ! But can't seem to get the full length video posted !





Jim

 

[Canotrouge]

That is pretty cool.... And the other one, don't cover glass with Carbon...

 

[Jim Dodd]

That is pretty cool.... And the other one, don't cover glass with Carbon...

Yeah, That's where I went wrong. Time will be the judge.

Jim

 

[Cruiser]

Very cool info Jim, good find, thanks for sharing.

Brian

 

[wingnut]

I'm surprised that S glass gets such a high review overall. I wonder if you could substitute 4 OZ S glass for the 6 OZ E glass to cut some weight on a stripper hull and maintain a similar strength.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Dave Curtis has been building canoes for forty years.. All light and strong

http://www.hemlockcanoe.com/engineering-and-construction.html

 

[Guest]

What yellow said. I owned a premium layup Hemlock. ranks among the best layups I have experience. You should hear the talk he makes on layups backed up by experience and sample pieces.
Turtle

 

[BWCA66]

So they all provide something different to a layup. Wonder what the "perfect" mix is?

 

[Jim Dodd]

So they all provide something different to a layup. Wonder what the "perfect" mix is?

Me too !

Jim

 

[Muskrat]

So they all provide something different to a layup. Wonder what the "perfect" mix is?

Just depends on what the canoe is being built for. It's a sliding scale of strength, stiffness, lightness, and expense.

 

[frozentripper]

Uh, I beg to diffah with this gentleman's opinion... he says kevlar has good abrasion resistance. This may be true for race cars in some way. For canoes kevlar on the outside layer and exposed to rocks will indeed withstand abrasion but at the same time fuzz up and be difficult to sand off. A layer of fiberglass on the outside should be easier to maintain and IIRC many canoes now have fiberglass to prevent damage to the kevlar underneath. School of hard knocks, I guess.

 

[BWCA66]

Just depends on what the canoe is being built for. It's a sliding scale of strength, stiffness, lightness, and expense.

So if $$'s aren't an issue, moderate weight and no rough whitewater what would anybody choose?

 

[Canotrouge]

So if $$'s aren't an issue, moderate weight and no rough whitewater what would anybody choose?

Maybe carbon inside and one layer of S glass outside to protect the carbon?

 

[Muskrat]

If money is no issue look at the racing canoes, marathon or whitewater, all carbon and foam. But for normal use I agree with Canotrouge.

 

[stripperguy]

Subjective comparison, similar to my intended carbon copy layup...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e7UKl5JByQ

 

[pblanc]

Stiffness of a panel or hull is largely a function of thickness. That is why core materials are used for lightweight layups. The core adds little strength but a lot of stiffness for little weight. Thirteen layers of any type of 5-6 ounce fabric is going to be a lot stiffer than 2 layers of 5-6 ounce fabric, regardless of the material. If you really want to compare the relative stiffness of various fabrics, you need to compare composite panels of equal thickness.

 

[Guest]

More than one right answer. I think workmanship and partial design and location and material mix must be considered.
Turtle

 

[Jim Dodd]

Subjective comparison, similar to my intended carbon copy layup...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e7UKl5JByQ

That link is great, and it also leads to more good info.

I will start using a heat gun, actually a hair drier, to warm the resin, while applying, to rid the air bubbles in the cloth.

Thanks stripperguy !

Jim.