I have built a "raft" using a modification of the technique http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/RaftRace/Triceratops.html. My father has built one of Monfort's 12' canoes.

The Kevlar does an impressive job of making the light frame rigid. My 18' hulls were very floppy before the Kevlar. After the Kevlar they did not noticably bend when lifted at one end.

The technique is easy and very cool.

> Has anyone had experience with the building techniques used by Geodesic
> Airolite Boats, or has anyone built one of their crafts before?
> Particularly interesting is their use of kevlar roving as a structural
> reinforcement - I'm guessing that the tension provided would boost the
> stiffness and integrity of the frame.

> How applicable would these techniques be to a bairdarka? The company
> claims super light weight without a significant decrease in durability, or
> perhaps utility - I don't care what they say, I'm not going to drag a skin
> boat over barnacles.

> Opinions, please!