SPECTRA

Archive 1999-2004
1

I’ve read about Spectra being used in conjuction with some epoxy based boards. But, how is it used? Is it a cloth or an epoxy type finish? Just curious. Thanks in advance Peaman

2

In my opinion Spectra should be not be used in surfboards unless you have a proven matrix. Like Kevlar, it is light and strong but it even likes to bond to epoxies and polyesters less than Kevlar. You also need to make sure that the material has gone through a special heat treatent prosess to help bondability to the matrix. This adds a lot of costs to the material. Most Spectra is made for balistics, and not put into a hard matrix so it won’t have this process done to it. Yes Spectra is lighter than anything else and is strong, but it doesn’t matter if your resin wont stick to it. You are only as good as your weakest link. Jono

3

Spectra and Kevlar are both aramids and have many similarities in strength. The problem with aramids are that they are very low in compression strength. They are incredible in impact though. Commpression strength is probably the most important strength charateristic in a surfboard composite. This is what keeps the board from buckling which is what always preceeds breakage. Impact strength will help with dings but that’s all. Giving up break strength for a bit of ding strength doesn’t seem to be a good deal to me. Therefore, in my opinion, it is not likely that Spectra is useful in surfboards at this time.

4

Thanks Greg, for the info. There’s a company over here in the UK who are using Spectra in their boards, but I wasn’t sure how. They’re epoxy based boards that utilise a carbon fibre stringer, which has a I beam cross section. I’ve seen one first hand and they are incredibly lightweight. Have a look www.tombstonesurf.com Thanks again Peaman

5

This is quite possibly a different combination of materials than I’ve seen before. That’s why I say things like, “at this time I don’t beleive,” because there always may be a new combination that I haven’t seen that may have merit. I’ve sent an email to the company to find out more. I hate to be uninformed. Thanks for the heads up.