Boating Industry Intelligence You Can Profit From
WILMINGTON, Del. – Cruising sailboat manufacturer Saga Marine has begun featuring DuPont Kevlar brand fiber in the hulls of its yacht line, Saga Marine said in a press release yesterday.
The addition of the Kevlar brand fiber to Saga’s hull laminate process, which was the result of three years of research and development, enables the company to build sailboats with lighter, stronger hulls offering increased collision protection, Saga said.
“Prior to using Kevlar, we were constructing our Saga sailboat hulls using a bi-axial stitch mat E-glass laminate and polyester/vinylester layup,” said Allan Poole, president of Saga Marine. “By incorporating Martinek’s double-weave fabric of Kevlar brand fiber and E-glass as the reinforcement in the vinyl ester laminate hulls, Saga Marine was able to create a composite material that is twice as impact resistant as glass/epoxy laminates and is significantly lighter and stiffer than fiberglass.”
Poole said the change to Kevlar had significantly improved the safety of the company’s hulls.