Carbon Fibre for building a Kayak


Author
Message
ClarissaWard1
ClarissaWard1
Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)Junior Member (7 reputation)
Group: Forum Members
Posts: 1, Visits: 18
Hi all, 

I'm currently at college doing A levels and for my next year project I was going to make a Kayak... talk about setting my aims high.

I've been looking and the matting available here and am completely lost on what to choose, is the heavier the g/m the better for a kayak? Or how about the non directional matting? I really have no idea!

Also for moulds... I was thinking about building one from thick sheets of MDF laid up and cut to form a mould, but I'd like to know of any better ideas? Thanks so much!

Kind Regards, 
Clarissa
Dravis
Dravis
Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)Supreme Being (3.1K reputation)
Group: Forum Members
Posts: 592, Visits: 1.9K
Do a smaller project first .. please :-)

Go through the projects on this site, check out all the builds presented on "yoootoob"

Something that gave me some much needed experience was making a "large suitcase" i.e. a purpose built gun-case for a very large rifle.

I made a "plug" giving me the external shape for the box/case, and made a mould from that. That was made form MDF, but was much too heavy and more than strong enough for making the mould.

For a kayak, I would definitely try to borrow an existing kayak, maybe offering to repair it, before using it to make the mould from it.  Alternatively, make the "plug" from low density foam, cut and sanded, and coated in Pattern Coat.

Depending on the use of the kayak, I would go for a sandwich construction using Kevlar/Carbon mix 200 g/sq metre as the outer layer(s) a foam core and the required number if inside layers.

This would be very strong and impact resistant.  If yours building a pure straight-line racing kayak, go for pure CF and only a few layers of 200 g/sq m.  then reinforce "strategic areas" with CF/kevlar  flat braid.

Go to a club or the like where they have kayaks of the kind you would like to build, to see how they are made.
 
Good luck ... BigGrin

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)
panda
panda
Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)Supreme Being (251 reputation)
Group: Forum Members
Posts: 47, Visits: 2.1K
All depends on the type of kayak as said. I have built a fair few kayaks over the last few years. Depending on where you are we could show you some of the molds we have and use and how to build them with little effort. If not o will post up some of the pictures of the boat builds. 

You will learn that kayaks are built in an unconventional way compared to a lot of other Composite parts as they are also built to be light and strong. Most racing boats are built with 2x 200g layers and some type of core. More reinforcement around the seat and ends. 

GO

Merge Selected

Merge into selected topic...



Merge into merge target...



Merge into a specific topic ID...




Similar Topics

Reading This Topic

Explore
Messages
Mentions
Search