Kevlar abrades quite easily, but then it gets fuzzy. Once it is fuzzy, it is like sanding a carpet, the raised fibers prevent further abrasion.

Kevlar is no good in compression, so impacts from the outside would be totaly dependant on the compression strength of the wood and the tensile strength of the interior layer of kevlar.

Like I mentioned in the question about fiberglass kayaks Charlie Walbridge's "Boatbuilders Manual" is a very good resource for this type of info.

> i believe george uses kevlar on the interior of his kayaks. if
> im correct he says the strength of kevlar is best used on the interior.
> i would also assume that because kevlar is not clear the interior
> would be the best place to put kevlar if you wanted to varnish your
> kayak instead of paint it.

> my question is if you are worried about scrapes, cuts, gouges,
> punchures, etc. wouldn't you want to have some kevlar on the exterior
> of the kayak (the surface that is going to come into contact with
> whatever first)?

> my assumtion is that the kevlar cloth that is used in kayak construction
> has abrasion resistance significantly superior to fiberglass. does
> it?

> if it does then wouldn't the best layup be kevlar-wood-kevlar?
>

> thanks stephen