Donzi and Kevlar hulls.

[SilverBack]

Does anyone know how many hulls that Donzi does in Kevlar or any exotic layup? Does anyone know what effect it would have on your boat? Would it make the boat feel more flexible or more rigid?

Would this be a blend of Kevlar and fiberglass? What would be a sure way of telling if a hull was made with something other that regular fiberglass?

My brother had a Kevlar hull Bullet bass boat and they put a sticker on the transom that stated that it was made of Kevlar. He also had one made of some other material but I can't remember the name of the stuff some combination of letters and number as I remember it. I think his Allison is made of Kevlar as well.

[gcarter]

Does anyone know how many hulls that Donzi does in Kevlar or any exotic layup? Does anyone know what effect it would have on your boat? Would it make the boat feel more flexible or more rigid?

Would this be a blend of Kevlar and fiberglass? What would be a sure way of telling if a hull was made with something other that regular fiberglass?

My brother had a Kevlar hull Bullet bass boat and they put a sticker on the transom that stated that it was made of Kevlar. He also had one made of some other material but I can't remember the name of the stuff some combination of letters and number as I remember it. I think his Allison is made of Kevlar as well.
Mr. Allard told me there was some exotic fibers in the larger ZR boats. I got the impression there was a variation of what material went in whatever particular part of the hull layup.

[MOP]

I know just a little about Kevlar, lighter and stronger. I had the opportunity to play with some small test panels years back, pretty impressive stuff. Ted (Mr X) can more then likely fill you in on Donzi's use of it.

Phil

[SilverBack]

George...it is great to hear from you on this. You are one of the best hull guys and general boat BRAINIAC!!! I have a 25 ZX from 1996 that is a one of a kind hull. It was built the year before they got rid of the 25 and the year before the step hulls came out. My hull has a pad bottom but it does not have steps. It is much lighter than it "should" be. I have had 2 other Donzi boats and they were both built like tanks. This 25 has a much thinner hull. You can stand up in front of the cabin and bump the hull and it moves. My boat rigger mounted a new ladder and some other stuff on the boat and he says he has not seen a Donzi with a hull layed up like this one.

[SilverBack]

MOP..I feel very special!! I have got some real experience helping me now!!

[SilverBack]

Why would my hull feel so much more flexible? Why would my boat be so much lighter? Wouldn't Kevlar be more rigid than regular fiberglass?

[gcarter]

I would suspect there's nothing in the hull but glass. IMHO, Donzi only now does the due diligance required for the balance between a well designed hull layup schedule and trying to save money and weight.
If it were mine and i were to pull the deck off, I'd probably reinforce the hull, maybe a foam core in the inside of the bottom w/ a Knytex layup on top of it.
But since I have no experience w/that hull style and construction, I can't really contribute more.

[BlownCrewCab]

Kevlar Material is usually yellow, You would know if your boat is kevlar cause all the bare glass you see would be yellow. there is instances where they just do the running surfaces or sides, or maybe even the deck only depending on what they where trying to accomplish. Where they want extra rigidity without extra weight.

[The Hedgehog]

Does anyone know how many hulls that Donzi does in Kevlar or any exotic layup? Does anyone know what effect it would have on your boat? Would it make the boat feel more flexible or more rigid?

Would this be a blend of Kevlar and fiberglass? What would be a sure way of telling if a hull was made with something other that regular fiberglass?

My brother had a Kevlar hull Bullet bass boat and they put a sticker on the transom that stated that it was made of Kevlar. He also had one made of some other material but I can't remember the name of the stuff some combination of letters and number as I remember it. I think his Allison is made of Kevlar as well.

Bullet bass boats are fast. There is a guy over here on CH lake that pulls a no BS 100 or so out of his. He has a big pair.

A friend of mine and another guy were out in a Hustler with blown Eddie engines and Arnesons when the bass boat ran them down. They had to stand on the Hustler pretty hard to outrun him. They said that when they came by he was running 95 and sawing on the wheel pretty hard. They stopped to talk him. He had a live well full of water and 3 Walleyes in it. His boat was full of gas too.

[SilverBack]

BCC, Every where that we have drilled and where we took the stock tips out were all yellow. Who knows.

Hedge hog,

Bullet boats ARE fast with the right power. My brother had a Kevlar hull that went close to triple digits and he has an Allison that is well into the triple digits. They had boats running over 125 MPH over 20 years ago. You really have to be able to drive one of those boats. You can't go that fast and not know what you are doing. I could not drive my brothers Bullet over 80 MPH. You have to make half turns every fraction of a second to keep it straight. My brother can do this and it seems like the boat is as smooth as silk. They can keep those things.

It would be great to have a jack plate like they do.

I saw an adjustable X transom mount that Mr. X posted one time. That is what I need. I would love to raise my X another 3 or 4 inches but it would make my CG too high.

My boat is running much better and has more speed than I would have expected it to have and we still have engine work to do and I will change that cam this winter and maybe raise my X 3 more inches this winter if the boat looks like it is going to stay stable as it is now.

[BlownCrewCab]

Keith, If the stuff you where drilling through comes out like a golden looking cotton ball then it was/is Kevlar. It really puffs up and gets stringy when you grind it or drill it.

[MOP]

Got to ask about Kevlar this afternoon, I think the fellow knows his beans!!! He said Kevlar though very strong in fact 10 times stronger then steel per weight it must be combined with fiber glass for rigidity. You can end up about 30% lighter and still far stronger then a plain glass laminate.

[mike o]

Does anyone know how many hulls that Donzi does in Kevlar or any exotic layup? Does anyone know what effect it would have on your boat? Would it make the boat feel more flexible or more rigid?

Would this be a blend of Kevlar and fiberglass? What would be a sure way of telling if a hull was made with something other that regular fiberglass?

My brother had a Kevlar hull Bullet bass boat and they put a sticker on the transom that stated that it was made of Kevlar. He also had one made of some other material but I can't remember the name of the stuff some combination of letters and number as I remember it. I think his Allison is made of Kevlar as well. ........are these the numbers - letters AME 3000?





Ashland chemical co vinyl ester resin... AME 3000 used in the late 80's - 90's with boats built with kevlar. The resin has an epoxy backbone, 30-40% stronger than a (gp)... general purpose polyester resin. Compliments the strength of the kevlar.

[SilverBack]

BCC,
That sounds like the stuff in the transom anyway.

Mike,
Yes I think that is right. It seems like it was 2000 but I can't remember. What is that?

[mike o]

BCC,
That sounds like the stuff in the transom anyway.

Mike,
Yes I think that is right. It seems like it was 2000 but I can't remember. What is that?... a one part resin with a epoxy back bone. a resin stronger than polyester, but not as strong as a full blown 2 part epoxy,. Like mast or west systems epoxy. google sweet composites. Hes got some good 101 resin explantions, carbon fiber- kevlar- e glass, s glass.. I think your RIGHT... ame 2000. Ashland chemical just bought dow chemicals vinylester stuff.. so google ashland + dow.. dows viny ester is called duraKane (sp?) I build canoes in New hampshire with this stuff

[harbormaster]

I had heard that kevlar tends to break down over time and can be compromised. Anyone else heard that one?

[mike o]

Kevlar has very poor uv properities when exposed directly the uv. Big boat hulls built with kevlar with gelcoated hulls and decks the material dosent really hit it directly is not a problem... Kevlar right off the roll is lemon yellow. but exposed to direct sunlight for a week turns amber brown. you can buy kevlar in other colors like black. Kevlar was $12/yd before the war now its $18-20/ YARD by the 100yd roll... carbon fiber is $25-32/yard ... last time I checked.

[BUIZILLA]

65' DONZI hull #1 is Kevlar.... :cool:

it's a drill bit eater... :smash:

[harbormaster]

If anyone needs kevlar, I have 4 really wide big rolls I want to sell. Make you a deal on it.

[gcarter]

I didn't know about the #1 65'er, but the ones I do know about are the 38ZR having some "selective" kevlar layup. The Halter made Donzi boats for the US military had a lot of kevlar, particularly in the sides, but for armor protection against bullets.
Kevlar is "tough". It "gives" alot more than regular glass. It's probably a really good material for Mike O's super light weight canoes. I can imagine they'll do very well against rocks.
Carbon is a bit stronger and a LOT more rigid. I know a lot of high performance sail boats use a lot of carbon. The rigidity of carbon can cause it to shatter in the right conditions. I know the military ses a lot of carbon in aircraft, but they don't run into things as a general rule.
Does anyone here know of a high performance carbon fiber power boat?

[mike o]

If anyone needs kevlar, I have 4 really wide big rolls I want to sell. Make you a deal on it..... Do you know the style, weave, finish, oz/yd, width,and length.....