Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Material: Update on Spectra
By:Johnathan Akers
Date: 10/22/2009, 11:58 am
In Response To: Material: Spectra anyone...? (Johnathan Akers)

Update on information I've gathered:

- I talked to West Systems about the G Flex. The guy I talked to says they've wanted to test it with Spectra, but just haven't gotten a chance to. Through most of the conversation he seemed to think I was talking about rope, not a woven fabric. Was just a lot of "i don't really know... but that could work" sorta answers. Once he really got it that I was talking about woven fabric in a laminate he was a little more receptive about the idea. He told me to consider heat treating it with a flame torch, like they've done with their HDPE tests.

- I talked to some contacts I have with military ballistics armoring. I was told that its typically used with vinylester resins in manufactured items. This of course makes sense, just in that such resins cure faster in a production environment, so I'm wondering if thats more their reason for using those than that it doesn't work with epoxies... I was also told that they pre-treat the woven Spectra with an electrical charge before use that helps with the adhesion, and that various types of radiation could produce the same effect.

- I've wanted to give Paul a visit sometime soon and toss some ideas back and forth, so this might be a good time to try and get ahold of him. My whitewater lineage is from those hills, and all of those early boaters know each other pretty well... I just gotta get up the nerve to give him a shout. It's encouraging to hear that you've used a boat built with it, and that it was "tough". Tough is a good word, and definitely the sorta thing i am looking for.

I appreciate the feedback and suggestions :) A coworker of mine has kindly offered the used of a bottle of G Flex he has been using for a variety of all sorts of things. He is pretty confident I can wet out a woven fabric with it, altho his only concern is that it "sets up quickly", so we shall see. One of the first things I will try is cutting off a small 1/4" square piece, and seeing if the thing ignites when trying to be hit with West's "flame treatment". I would hate to torch an entire sample to figure that out~

~Johnathan

Messages In This Thread

Material: Spectra anyone...?
Johnathan Akers -- 10/21/2009, 11:05 pm
G/flex and Spectra
Sam McFadden -- 10/22/2009, 1:02 pm
Re: Material: Spectra anyone...?
frankp -- 10/22/2009, 12:24 pm
Material: Update on Spectra
Johnathan Akers -- 10/22/2009, 11:58 am
Re: Material: Update on Spectra
Mike Bielski -- 10/22/2009, 5:42 pm
Re: Material: Update on Spectra
Robert N Pruden -- 10/23/2009, 11:26 am
Re: Material: Update on Spectra
Brian Nystrom -- 10/23/2009, 6:19 pm
Re: Material: Update on Spectra
Mike Savage -- 10/24/2009, 8:08 am
Re: Material: Update on Spectra
Johnathan Akers -- 10/22/2009, 6:15 pm
Re: Material: Update on Spectra
Wesley Ewell -- 10/22/2009, 12:43 pm
Re: Material: Spectra anyone...? *LINK*
Chris Sperry -- 10/22/2009, 10:40 am
Re: Material: Spectra anyone...?
Johnathan Akers -- 10/22/2009, 12:06 pm
Re: Material: Spectra anyone...?
Chris Sperry -- 10/22/2009, 12:50 pm
Re: Material: Spectra anyone...?
Bill Hamm -- 10/22/2009, 12:51 am