Hi there I am 69 years old and have never owned a canoe, is there a easy way to tell a fiberglass from a kevlar??? I know the kevlar is lighter," lighter than what" I don’t have anything to compare it to, I am looking to buy a canoe that says coke cola on the side and on a plate is says allagash?? anybody out there know what I am looking at?? it seems to be 13 or 14 feet thanks Raymond T
kevlar and fiberglass
Kevlar is more or less yellow. I’ve seen new Kevlar in colors from light greenish yellow to golden. I’ve seen old Kevlar that had faded to a cinnamon color, sort of reddish golden brown.
All the fiberglass I’ve seen is white or grayish white.
That’s the fiber itself I’m talking about. Once you start adding pigment to the resin or putting paint or gelcoat on top of the cloth, the boat can be any color you want. Usually Kevlar boats expose the yellow cloth at least on the inside of the hull, but not always.
Kevlar is lighter than fiberglass, at a given strength.
Maybe the weight is what really matters to you, not the cloth that was used to make the boat. If you can lift it onto a car, carry it down a path, and turn it fast enough to avoid whatever obstacles you’re going to be paddling through, it’s probably light enough.
– Mark
Probably not Kevlar
– Last Updated: Sep-07-07 11:46 PM EST –
My first thought is that any boat that says "Coca-cola" on the side was probably built for a particular advertising campaign, and it seems highly unlikely that a high-end boat was chosen for this. If it is fiberglass, it might be "chopper-gun" fiberglass, which is very heavy. Chopper-gun construction involves spraying a mixture of chopped fiberglass and resin onto a mold, while "good construction" using fiberglass (or Kevlar, and often both) involves laying fiberglass fabric into/into a mold by hand. Chopper-gun construction requires very little labor and not much skill, while hand layup using fabric requires both, and thus, boats built with fabric are much more expensive (and not likely to be used for soft drink promos!).
Those are just my thoughts, not knowing anything else about the situation.
Weigh it
a kevlar canoe cost thosands of dollars and the seller will know what it weighs. Odds are it is between 35 and 55 pounds although Krugers weight more.
A decent fiberglass canoe will weigh between 55 and 65 pounds.
Lots of junk is made from fiberglass and sellers try to pass it off as a quality boat. These slugs are heavy and weak. But they were cheap and easy to make. If your looking at one of these, then you are much better off finding an old aluminum canoe.
Old Town?
Old Town used to make a model called Allagash. If there is a serial number on the name plate, call OT with that and they can probably tell you the material and build date. Theri number is (800) 343-1555.
kevlar
get a fiberglass boat. careful shopping will keep the weight down and is much easier to repairand save a bunch of $
Larry’s right
If you could post the HIN we can tell you at least the manufacturer and the month and year it was made. If the manufacturer is still in business you can contact them to get the material it was made of.
The HIN (Hull Identification Number) is like the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) number of your car. All commercially manufactured and imported canoes in this country have a 12 character HIN permanently affixed near the starboard (right) side of the stern (back).
IF IT’S THE ONE
I saw on Ebay, it’s kevlar.
Are you sure you want to paddle a billboard?