Hhttp://www.wenonah.com/craftsmanship/barracuda.php
It looks like it should be more abrasion resistant than their kevlar ultra light construction.
Interesting
If it is truly an improved fabric to work with, I wonder how its’ application to kayak construction would play out?
sweeeet!
That looks simply beautiful.
Guys!
Barracuda is coated 8.5 oz E glass in a 2X2 twill weave that makes a composite hull resemble an aluminum one when laid behind clear gel.
While trick looking, it’s still E glass and will yield a heavier hull than one with another layer of Kevlar or carbon. It’s not really worth getting very excited about.
About 2 lbs heavier than kevlar ultra
– Last Updated: Sep-15-10 11:22 AM EST –
light in Wenonah's line up. At least it's glass on the outside, rather than kevlar.
The Barracuda construction also uses a layer of Innegra S, rather than kevlar, for impact restistance. Any thoughts on the Innegra S, Charlie?
Edited to add that it costs the same as their kevlar ultra light construction.
Tensile layers
– Last Updated: Sep-15-10 6:52 PM EST –
Innegra is a polyolefin, as are Spectra and Dyneema. It is often marketed as a less expensive option than Kevlar for high tensile strength use. I don't know if it bonds better than the other[s], but it may retain their reduced weight and improved impact resistance re Kevlar/Twaron.
I wonder if this isn't the family of stuff Native was using in their "tegra" hulls. That required a very HD heated press to form, 40 atmospheres pressure if memory serves. This pretty obviously can be resinated and formed under simple vacuum.
So we've a layer of 8.5 oz E glass, an Innegra layer, foam core and ribs and another layer of something on the inside.
I'm way more interested in the Innegra than the aluminized glass. If it bonds better than Spectra/Dyneema without the necessity for a re-treatment every couple months and is reasonably priced it should impact the high end market.
Really cool to see them using
Texalium and Innegra but as Charlie already stated … Nothing earthshaking here.
A way to hype the boats.
The Texalium will also ‘yellow’ faster ( with any resin ) down the road and look less silvery.
The Innegra needs ‘support plys’ around it to work best so hopefully they did their R&D to maximize what it can do for the layup.
I think it’s great . . . except for the
color.
So here are the draw backs, slightly heavier than a Kevlar ultralight, but at the same price.
Here is the rest of the store. Barracuda boats from Wenonah come with black gunwales standard, while the price of a standard UL Kevlar boat is for silver gunwales. Adding black to these boats is a $100 up-charge, so the Barracuda boats are actually a bit less in a direct comparison.
The material is similar in wear characteristics of fiberglass with the strength and weight of Kevlar. How many outfitter or well used Kevlar Ultralight boats wear their stems down to fuzziness? Fiberglass abrades cleanly and will allow for less complicated and less costly repairs. There is no gelcoat exterior on the Barracuda boats, so again, simplicity of repair.
I think once people have owned and paddle Barracuda boats for a while they will come to love the material combination.
Swift doesn’t mention the material in their construction info, but a blurb with their Pack Canoe mentions it is built from Barracuda also.
http://swiftcanoe.com/canoe/pack/pack.htm
I Do Not Like The Name For A Canoe
Barracuda is an ocean going fish
I appreciate their using glass for the
outer layer because, for my use on rough rivers, carbon is too soft. Of course I would prefer S-glass, and I don’t care about the aluminum thing.
Wow, yanoer, you could post this again
over on the Discussion Forum.
Why would I post it twice?
I’m wanting to know about anyone’s first hand experience with it’s abrasion resistance and durability compared to their kevlar ultra light construction.
“Looks like” does not seem to indicate
a desire to know anything. So you were holding back on us.
Nermal it does NOT have the same
– Last Updated: Sep-16-10 3:09 AM EST –
the same strength and weight of Kevlar.
Here is a nice description of a typical weight Texallium
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=4936
Here is some technical info on std. 5.0 ounce Kevlar typically used for boat building. See style # 281 At the bottom.
http://www.hexcel.com/www.hexcel.com/Templates/DataSheets_DGFabrics.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fProducts%2fDownloads%2fFabrics%2bDG%2bData%2bSheets%2ehtm&NRNODEGUID=%7b4FE1348A-06EE-44E1-A944-9B9576F1E94A%7d&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest&map=P3&t=Carbon+Data+Sheets
Here are some specs for a typical "6 ounce" fiberglass. Go to 3733 on the chart.
http://www.hexcel.com/Products/Downloads/Fabrics+Data+Sheets.htm?map=P1&t=Fiberglass+Data+Sheets
I stuck with a regular plain weave for both comparisons.
The Texallium I S a major PITA if you want to repair it and have it come out nice cosmetically. The coating is just that ... a Coating, the second you touch it with sandpaper the coating is gone and you are back to glass ... So attempting a faired in patch from the outside will likely leave a nice halo unless the repair guy is really good.
Edit to add: Wear and scratches will also go back to a glass look once they go through the surface resin or resin glass, then the silver coating.
Not saying Barracuda the fabric
compares to Kevlar.
Barracuda the Wenonah Layup compares in weight and strength to a typical Kevlar boat.
The combination Wenonah’s chosen is great for overall durability.