With the price of fuel going up, building in carbon fiber will get more interesting for motorboats too. but a cored glass/epoxy hull will be quite an improvement too, considering the more common polyester/glass layups.. Carbon fiber is creeping into medium-priced boats, used to cap hull stringers and in accessories like hard tops where owners are willing to pay for higher-priced options. as hinckley’s dasher demonstrates, electric propulsion is another trend that is beginning to take hold.. Why carbon fiber? stiffness and lightness is the core reason for adopting it in amateur boatbuilding. i once saved 5 kgs ( 11 lbs) on a 17 ft kayak, just by using lighter scantlings, quarter sawn high grade softwoods, and by pre-finishing all parts (wood epoxy saturation on flat warmed wooden surfaces and paint before assembly)..
Years later, and built their first full carbon fiber boat in 1984. jubilation was a 54’ german frers design built in kevlar, carbon fiber & plascore honeycomb. goetz went on to pioneer the business. the process has evolved into a highly engineered and exacting science.. Building a carbon-fiber boat is not as simple as swapping out fiberglass with the high-tech fibers. lamination schedules, resins and infusion techniques differ significantly, says nagler. “epoxy resins, for instance, are often used with carbon-fiber construction. but gelcoat won’t stick to epoxy,” he says.. Carbon, i know that a lot of boats use cf. i own a sailboat with it all over the place, and two powerboats with it as well. but the reality is that to make an entire boat out of cf is prohibatively expensive compared to high quality glass..
