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Frequently Asked Questions
The following are general "Frequently Asked Questions"
about Feathercraft kayaks.
What is the Warranty ?
All Feathercraft Kayaks come with a five year warranty on all
parts and workmanship. Our service and support will contin-
ue well after that, as your Feathercraft Kayak is expected to
last 10 to 15 years.
The best advertising available is a happy kayaker paddling
their Feathercraft!
Materials and Construction
The Hull
For years we used hypalon. This was the best product avail-
able. Hypalon is a rubber and neoprene laminate that is
extremely rugged and durable. To make a hull of hypalon
fabric various glues and chemical compounds are required
to bond the sections together. It is a toxic, incredibly labour
intensive job. Huge developments have been made in the
fabric industry in recent years. And now other fabric options
have become available.
All fabric hull material begins with a cloth weave of either
polyester or nylon. Then the fabric is coated with either
polyvinyl chloride (PVC vinyl), urethane or hypalon. The best
cloth weave is made of high-tenacity fibers woven in a tight,
balanced weave (i.e. a similar number of threads going both
lengthwise and across the fabric).
Urethane is harder than hypalon rubber and much harder
than PVC, hence having higher abrasion resistance. Urethane
coated fabrics have typically been used as heavy duty truck
and equipment tarps and on inflatable rafts. We found that
these massed produced, single coated fabrics are too stiff to
stretch over our sleek frame works. We had to work with our
supplier to develop the combination of strength and supple-
ness that we require. The base fabric is made from high
tenacity nylon fibers, an 840 denier balanced weave. The fab-
ric is scorched (heated) and dyed. To ensure high adhesion
of the coating to the fabric, a solution coat of thin urethane is
impregnated into the fibers. This is followed by successive
applications of urethane coats. The outer coats are harder
than the inner coats. The fabric is extremely tough, yet sup-
ple. The advantages are obvious: high abrasion resistance,
high UV resistance, resistant to fading, supple, light weight,
weldable. The disadvantage is that this fabric, which is made
in small quantities for Feathercraft, is considerably more
expensive than hypalon.
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