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What most builders don't realize is that aramid, carbon fiber, and other high end fabrics are relatively useless unless set in epoxy resin. You can use these materials in vinyl ester or polyester, but you really are not gaining anything but cost. Claims of boat weights are 99% wrong from manufacturers. If a builder has a scale at his shop and can show you what the boat weighs before you buy it, then you may know. The same holds true for draft. Show me a standard build hull next to a custom carbon or kevlar hull in the water with the same rigging and compare the drafts. I also remember reading the Chittum skiffs "glass parts" weigh 400Lbs, not the completed hull minus engine. Boat buyers should keep these things in mind when shopping and asking questions.
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