Mikey-

Never worked with Spectra, perhaps in the future? Who knows...

The 1.8 oz kevlar was something else. It seemed like comparing the kev to glass was like comparing aluminum alloy to pine. Really impressive stuff.

I bought the $7.00 set of purple handled Fiskars at Walmart to cut it, and I don't use those scissors for anything else. A buddy gave me a couple of Hock chisel blanks a few years ago (RC 63 or so, I think) and I made a knife out of one anf a chisel out of the other. I used the knife to cut the green kev like cutting green glass w/ utility knife.

I only used the kev on the inside of the hull, for A few reasons: I thought anywhere else was structural overkill; it's expensive (although the expense is partly, if not mostly, offset by the reduction in goo use); and, most important, I did not know how difficult it would be to cut out hatches, work around cockpit, etc.

I cut the inside hull kev about 2-3" wild (above the top edge of the hull), then wet out to within about one inch of the top edge. The kev wets more nicely than e glass, I think.

Then, that wild flap of kev is a kind of pre-positioned joining flap for attaching the hull. I trimmed the kev 6" or so back from the ends so I wouldn't have to drill through the kev for the grab loops. The wild flap is cut vertically every two feet or so to allow it to lay better on the inside of the deck, across the shear. After joining, I reinforced the interior seam with bias cut strips of the kev. The kev edges are much neater than with glass- you don't get the fraying like you get with glass, at least not with this stuff.

I do get some bubbles at the joint, but they are minimized by being careful while wetting out the hull, and can be camoflaged somewhat by the second layer of strips. I like the idea of that hull kevlar going up into the hull 2-3 inches in a continuous, unbroken panel, and I'm willing to have a few bubbles.

So far, the only major downside is that I don't know if Ill ever be able to separate the deck and hull without extraordinary means, so I'm kind of figuring that repairs will have to be done from the outside. The stuff seems to be holding up beautifully, though, at least so far.

OK, if you won't share your CF, you can't have any of my Kevlar. Mike