Full carbon, is it the right path?

Roseand

Roseand

The Weaponizer
Site Supporter
Location
Wisconsin
Seems that everyone screams carbon this carbon that, but never why it's so necessary. Choosing between hybrid layup and full carbon for my new hull. It's about 20 lbs lighter to go full carbon but also 1500$- money I could save or put into a mag pump. Also skeptical of a mag pump because an oem 155 is kicking ass as it is with my 898.
I'm looking to chase boats and do a bit of flatwater freestyle(really only 3 trick combos, hope to do more as I get better)
I'm skeptical of the 20 lbs making a difference because I don't notice that drastic of a difference in performance going from 5 gallons of fuel to riding with the tank near empty..I feel the nose is lighter but not sure how much easier it makes flips come around.
IF I choose to do more free styling, am I gonna kick myself for not going full carbon? Like, is 20lbs the determining factor from being able to do 3 vs 5 flips?
 
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kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
The Japanese can do a lot with their fiberglass boats. Flat water requires getting the most altitude possible from a small or nonexistent wave . Any weight reduction is an advantage as well as any gain in thrust. Less weight and more power will at least provide more cushion if your setup isn't perfect. This could make a big difference in competition. Im a little surprised the top guys aren't burning methanol yet.
 
Sparkplug

Sparkplug

Location
Red Bluff CA
20 pounds is a ton of weight. I can feel going from a lead battery to a lithium. It absolutely changes the handling.

I'd say if you can't feel the difference in a full tank of fuel. Your nowhere near the level of rding to need carbon or the problems that come with it. That's just keeping it real. Conducts electricity. Needs anode. Fails catastrophically. Hard/expensive to repair.

The titan sub showed the world that carbon isn't all its touted by many to be. It is a really cool material. That I in no way fully understand. But the benefits seem to lend themselves to extreme performance.
 
JKMike

JKMike

Location
Annapolis, Maryland
If you ride any sort of salt/brackish water you should definitely take what sparkplug mentioned into consideration when looking at a full carbon hull. Stuff is going to corrode like crazy. Heck, it managed to eat a hole straight through my Carbon XFR's aluminum thru hull exhaust tube in only a couple years and I'm meticulous when it comes to cleaning my ski. But even with the hassles associated with carbon i still love it!

I really hope that the whole Titan incident doesn't turn people off carbon too much. Its still an amazing material and I would argue there are way more cases where carbon has been used successfully than those where it caused a catastrophic problem. Even in that case, it sounds like it wasn't all the carbons fault. That guy made a whole mountain of mistakes....
 
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Roseand

Roseand

The Weaponizer
Site Supporter
Location
Wisconsin
Sparkplug said:
20 pounds is a ton of weight. I can feel going from a lead battery to a lithium. It absolutely changes the handling.

I'd say if you can't feel the difference in a full tank of fuel. Your nowhere near the level of rding to need carbon or the problems that come with it. That's just keeping it real. Conducts electricity. Needs anode. Fails catastrophically. Hard/expensive to repair.

The titan sub showed the world that carbon isn't all its touted by many to be. It is a really cool material. That I in no way fully understand. But the benefits seem to lend themselves to extreme performance.
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I should say I do notice it rides different, but I'm not really sure how much the weight is holding me back.
 
Roseand

Roseand

The Weaponizer
Site Supporter
Location
Wisconsin
yamanube said:
Are you riding everything out? If you are flopping and pancacking tricks a lot, carbon may not be the best choice.
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Definitely do not ride every combo out! But when I flop it's usually slow and only a couple feet outta the water. But I was planning on learning to roll and that could take a few hard smacks..
 
Sparkplug

Sparkplug

Location
Red Bluff CA
Any of those old ass spoon bottom hulls suck. They are the reason people think you can't Rec ride short hulls. Because Bob, wdk, and all the other spoon hulls put no actual r and d Into them. They ride like garbage regardless if they are carbon or not. And if and when you go to sell it. No one is gonna want to buy it
 
yamanube

yamanube

This Is The Way
Staff member
Location
Mandalor
kevbo said:
"Spoon hulls" , is that a technical term???
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He's not wrong, it is a design "feature".

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Sparkplug

Sparkplug

Location
Red Bluff CA
If you looked at the bottom of those spoon hulls. And say a rickter. Kitty craft, or revolver. You'd see what I was talking about. Those old hulls suck for anything other than rotating backwards.

Can they roll and spin? Sure. A surfboard could with a 1200. It doesn't change the fact that they suck for anything else.
 
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