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Boat Construction

Different Types of Boat Construction:
 
High Performance Thermoplast: Blow Moulded Technology

For the production of its world famous HTP kayaks, PRIJON is using a special PE, called HTP. This material can only be used in Blow Moulding and not in roto-moulding, as used by other producers of kayaks. The molecule chains of HTP are approximately 10 times longer than those of rotating PE. This makes the boat hulls stiffer, lighter and less susceptible to abrasion.
 
HTP kayaks have clear advantages regarding form stability, abrasion and boat weight, compared to kayaks made of rotated PE. HTP is very environmentally friendly. When it is recycled, there are no poisonous gases or residues; it is ground water neutral and free of heavy metals.
 
Care: HTP boat shells are very sturdy and already possess a permanent protection against UV-rays. Therefore they need no treatment with vanishes, wax or other care materials.
 
+ Extremely high level of mechanical resilience
+ Not sensitive to ground contact
+ Stiff and form stable when paddling in arctic or tropical regions
- Comparably high weight 
  • All Plastic Prijon & Eskimo Kayaks

Roto-Moulded Plastic

Rotational moulding as a technique that allows the making of most simple or complex shapes without sanding or welding and with parts inserted or boded in.

Rotary moulding provides great flexibility in manufacture, quick and easy mould modifications at acceptable costs.
 
Most rotational moulding uses a Polyethylene plastic which starts out in the form of a powder.
 
The main advantages of PE are:
  • Shock resistance even when cold
  • Abrasion resistance
  •  Low coefficient of friction
  • All Cobra Kayaks   
  • All DAG Kayaks   
  • All Koastal Kayaks   
  • All Exo Kayaks

ABS Vacuum Formed Plastic

  • Prijon Prilite 505 & 470

For PriLite boats, the ABS combination plates, sealed with UV resistant Perspex, are pulled into the hot moulds, which have a temperature of approximately 80 degrees, in a computerised process, using heat and vacuum.

 

The upper and lower parts of the boat are inseparably joined together by a double-sided U profile. This profile additionally strengthens the sides of the kayak against impact.

 

The mounting of deck mountings and interior fittings are thoroughly done by hand, as on all Prijon boats

 

Advantages: PriLite boats are approx. 20% lighter than comparable kayaks made of HTP.  At the same time there is a clear advantage regarding stability compared to Fibreglass or Carbon/Aramide

 

Repairs/Care: Superficial scratches can be polished off with a special paste, available in specialised shops.  Larger repairs are made with Epoxi.  The inside of the boat should not be permanently exposed to sun (store upside down!). 

  • Lighter than HTP
  • More sturdy than GFK/Carbon Aramide
  • More susceptible to mechanical wear and tear than HTP

Other ABS Vacuum Formed Plastic Brands

  • All Hurricane Kayaks   
  • Barracuda Beachcomber   

Fibreglass/Carbon-Aramide:   Laminated kayaks are made by hand in the traditional way.  They are more sensitive to contact with the ground compared to boats made of HTP or PriLite, and should therefore be predominately used in free-flowing waters.  PRIJON is offering the two material varieties of GFK and Carbon/Aramide.

GFK: The fibre mates of our GFK-kayaks mainly consist of glass fibres, which are very stiff, but still favourable in cost.  Kayaks made of GFK are comparable to the PriLite boats with regard to their weight

  • 20% reduction of weight compared to a comparable HTP-kayak
  • Elegant shape
  • Simple handling outside the water
  • More susceptible to mechanical wear and tear than HTP and ProLite

Carbon/Aramide:

These boats mainly consist of carbon and Aramide fibres, combining the excellent qualities of carbon, which is very hard and gives the boat its stiffness with the qualities of Aramide, which is very shock-proof and provides the necessary impact resistance.  The biggest advantage of this construction method is clearly the incredibly low weight (up to 10kg lighter than HTP boats).

Care/Repairs: If the boat hull should get damaged, specialised shops provide repair sets matching the material.

  • The lightest boat, 25% weight than a HTP kayak
  • Elegant shape
  • More susceptible to mechanical wear and tear than HTP and PriLite

  • Prijon Millenium   
  • Prijon Laguna   
  • Prijon Piave