I am 90% likely to buy a Blade in the next few months. The hulls come in E-glass or Kevlar and I am trying to decide which will be more durable.

I have worked extensively with composites and have not had positive experiences with Kevlar. It is very difficult to work with and prone to delamination. At one of my previous companies (Indy Car manufacturer) we only used where we absolutely had to (electrical equipment mounting points). Any thoughts on the Kevlar vinylester combination versus E-glass?

Thanks

I was under the impression that all the Tai Pan boats are made of Kevlar and they don't seem to have any delamination issues...that I know of. Is that correct? Are they all made of Kevlar I mean.

Tim,
AHPC offer Kevlar as an option, glass is standard.
The options are either single kevlar or double kevlar.
My understanding is single Kevlar is the inner skin and double has Kevlar in both skins.
I have never heard of them having any problems....

Regards,
Phill

My Taipan is "double kevlar," ie inner and outer skins. It has proven to be extremely strong and I've had no delam issues whatsoever. Note that my boat is only a couple years old. Having said that, AHPC's build quality is extremely high and the much older boats I've seen look very good.

I think that you have confused something that you have heard relatable to Kevlar laminated directly to carbon fibre.
When Kevlar and carbon fibre are laminated directly together as two separate but co joined laminates there CAN be a "sheer" problem between the two with delamination possible, (that was one reason why a fabric consisting of Kevlar and carbon fibre interwoven “50/50” was originally conceived to solve this potential problem). When Kevlar is used as a “stand alone” laminate, delamination is only possible through “poor workmanship” and not as a result of any characteristics of the material.