The Navy is somewhat anti carbon fiber because aluminum and carbon dunked in saltwater makes a darned good battery. The aluminum gets eaten and you ship sinks. Bummer.

This is not as much a problem in a kayak as long as you don't run a wire back to an aluminum rudder. On the inside where the wood will protect the fiber from direct impact I think carbon fiber ribs might be useful.

> "Carbon appears particularly efficient for strength/weight and
> stiffness/weight designs, but it's low resistance to impact damage, high
> cost, and concerns with corrosion make the general use of carbon for
> marine applications unlikely"