You mean like my Wenonah J200 solo that did a back flip off the truck
(don't ask) at 70mph, skittered down the freeway in downtown chicago,,
ripped the hull in 2 places, broke the gunwhale, was repaired and is
still straight and strong? (We named the boat RoadRash)

If you are getting a boat to take on long trips through the BWCA or
Quetico, or to do some of the non-rock garden river trips, by all means
get a kevlar boat. If you plan on bouncing off of lots of rocks,
ramming it into the beach at portages, and leaving it out in the sun to
rot, get royalex.

marsh

wrote:
Hello all,

I'm contemplating my 1st purchase of a Kevlar canoe and wanted to
tap the cumulative experience on this list before I throw down
the cash. To make it interesting, instead of just asking for
advice I'll ask for some stories ... but please, no fish stories
;-]
What is the ugliest beating your Kevlar boat has withstood and do
you think you were just lucky? And for the abuse it couldn't
take, how difficult/costly was the repair?
Since there are lots of different composites using kevlar these
days, please describe your layup.


Thanks in advance,
Trey Downey

PS: I'm not looking for a boat to beat the hell out of. I simply
want to hear about the durability of Kevlar boats from people who
use them a lot instead of from people who sell a lot of them.

when comparing kevlar reinforeced boat to others UV protection is not an
issue because its the resin, not the fibre, which breaks down under UV
radiation. kevlar isn't put in boats for increased UV protection.


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