building my own kayak

I have a project of building my own kayak. One of the many questions i ask myself is witch material is the best wood or fiberglass. What are avantages and drawbacks of each one.

Thank's

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Actually, the aircraft fabrics are all synthetics now, like fibreglass. Ceconite, for instance is *super* tough. You can stand back and hit it with a ballpean hammer (providing you don't hit one of the longerons, and it'll bounce back. Try that with a plastic kayak (or qajaq as we call them up here). The nice thing about Ceconite too is that you can shrink it with heat. You use a heat gun to tighten it up after you put it on. The shrinking ability is phenomenal. It'll continue to contract if you apply sufficient heat until it crushes the kayak if you want to try it. When you get the tension you want, you apply aircraft dopes, like Butrate Aircraft Dope, and get a really tough finish and waterproof of course.

I agree on the ceconite and dope. I have used it on experimental aircraft and it is indeed tougher than you can imagine. I would recommend this process. It is highly repairable too. Good luck, Mike.

André regarde www.kayacano.ca

Marcel

Wood kayaks are covered with fibreglass.

Were you thinking of pure fiberglass built on a wood mould that you'd have to make anyway?

Simpler to combine the 2 in a stictc and glue kayak.

Try a web search for Pygmy kayaks and Chesapeake Light Craft for details.

: I have a project of building my own kayak. One of the many questions i : ask myself is witch material is the best wood or fiberglass. What are : avantages and drawbacks of each one.

: Thank's

: Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ : Before you buy.