hebert@hare.DEC (water, water, everywhere -) (04/09/85)
I don't have marine architect data about Kevlar hulls. I own one. This is my seventh (quiet, wife) boat, all power. It is a 24' HydraSports 2400CD cuddy cabin with a 235 Johnson with VRO. I bought the rig new in '83; the engine is an '84. I trail it everywhere, from Maine to Rhode Island. I drive it hard on the water -- 25+knots with 3 to 5 foot seas. It will do 40 knots flat out. We regularly run 25-35 miles offshore, and usually cover 80 to 100 miles in a day's fishing; I have to drive it hard to get in all the fishing I want to do in a day. The reason for all this background is to attempt to empirically support my observation that this is the strongest hull I have ever owned. And, at 2700 lbs (hull alone) I can still feasibly trail, launch, and retrieve it ALONE. It sits on an ez-loader all roller trailer, and there is not one depression to show the weight on any roller. There is no hint of any hook in the keel despite all the trailering with 100+ gallons of fuel and all the gear for offshore fishing. My Boston Whaler did show these depressions, and did develop a slight hook. Boats of that type derive their rigidity from the sandwich construction; but the foam filler is compressible over time. Last summer my son and I were driving it pretty hard in the Gulf of Maine with about 6 foot seas running. He was at the wheel while I was stowing a rod that had come adrift, when he yelled at me to hold on to something. Was he right - we punched through a "rogue" wave that had to be 20-25' high and came out in thin air on the other side. I'd say we fell 15' straight down into the trough; two tons of slam. Not one thing happened to any part of the hull or boat fixtures. Other stuff broke, but nothing made by the boat factory. Have you seen the latest Bertram ad they've been running in the mags? That's exactly what it was like. I have personally seen an 18' center console with Kevlar hull that hit a buoy in LI sound at 30 knots. There was a LOT of cosmetic damage to the gel coat (it was ground completely off), the rub rail and SS bow rail were demolished, the operator had broken ribs, but the hull remained absolutely intact, watertight, and seaworthy. The boat is back in commission with a wiser operator. Palmer's Cove Marina in Noank, Conn. has a laundry list of similar mistreatment of Kevlar hulls, with almost unbelievable durability. (I don't work there, or have any love for the place, I'm just pointing you to a potential source of real information.) Art Hebert Skipper of the FYSHBYTE "DECVAX!DECWRL!RHEA!R2ME2!HEBERT"
mat@amdahl.UUCP (Mike Taylor) (04/14/85)
> > I don't have marine architect data about Kevlar hulls. I own one. > > Art Hebert > Skipper of the FYSHBYTE > > "DECVAX!DECWRL!RHEA!R2ME2!HEBERT" I know it's strong. That's why a 40 foot racing sailboat hull can weigh only 800 pounds and stand enormous stresses from the rig as well as the sea. That's different from knowing how to design with the stuff. -- Mike Taylor ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,sun}!amdahl!mat [ This may not reflect my opinion, let alone anyone else's. ]