: What would be the benefit of using carbon fiber instead of wood.

Benefits of wood in boatbuilding:
1. Readily available.
2. Relatively inexpensive
3. Easily tooled.
4. Mistakes are generally easy to fix.
5. BEAUTY, in a classic way. Very easy to customize.
6. Plans are readily available.
7. Relatively short time from plans to beginning of build. (Short setup time.)

Benefits of CF in boatbuilding:
1. COOL FACTOR
2. Strength-to-weight ratio is good when done correctly.
3. Beauty, in a modern way.

Downsides to CF in boatbuilding:
1. Cost: CF more expensive than wood per foot. Vacuum bagging pumps, hoses, peelply, breather layers, etc could add cost also.
2. Setup time (molds, vacuum bagging setup). Takes longer from planning to actual building.
3. Mistakes in the final product are relatively harder to fix.
4. Comes in any color you want, as long as you want black. :-)
5. (Final product might be somewhat more fragile than wood?) (My experience with Kevlar canoes says "eh, not so much.")

The normal disclaimer applies: this is my opinion only, based on my experience & available tooling. Others with different experience probably have a different list.

Good luck!

-Greg H
St. Paul, MN