Royalex

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Royalex is a modern plastic - composite . The standard version is a laminate made up of (from the outside in): a layer of polyvinyl chloride , several ABS layers and an ABS foam core, which only expands under the influence of heat in the production process of the end product. It was used in canoe construction from the mid-1990s . According to the manufacturer, production was stopped in 2013 due to lower purchase quantities and thus lower profitability.

It was sold in the USA and Canada by various major Canadian manufacturers and others. a. also used by a German manufacturer and is a relatively light, durable material. It was particularly interesting for canoe construction, as the foamed core made it possible to significantly reduce the weight of a Royalex boat compared to PE boats, with greater rigidity and without significantly impairing resilience.

Royalex was developed by Uniroyal, then manufactured for a long time by Spartech and later taken over by Polyplast, which eventually stopped production. It was available in various laminate configurations that were achieved by varying the number of layers, their thickness and their positioning in the starting material. Royalite, last produced under the name “R 84”, is an example of a particularly light Royalex material with additional increased rigidity, which was achieved by replacing the PVC outer skin with an acrylic mixture. So different requirements such. B. for whitewater and touring boats or different boat sizes / types are met. Some manufacturers let z. B. strengthen the stern, keel and bow area for your boats in the supplied plate.

Material properties from Royalex

  • insulates against cold and heat
  • floats on its own (no buoyancy devices are needed in standing water to keep the boat on the surface)
  • relatively stiff
  • durable
  • impact resistant
  • initially a relatively soft surface, which, however, over the years due to UV radiation and the outgassing of plasticizers i. d. R. gets harder

Anchor plates with D-rings (e.g. for thigh straps or for lashing luggage etc.) can easily be glued into Royalex boats. The disadvantage of Royalex is the somewhat softer surface compared to GRP (when you touch stones you leave “color”) and that the boat tips cannot be shaped so sharply. In addition, these boats are quite expensive and not recyclable . A boat made of Royalex generally does not run as well and lightly in stagnant water as a boat made of laminate or wood (poorer gliding properties). This results on the one hand from the less smooth PVC surface and on the other hand from the less sharply shaped boat tips, which increase the water resistance.

With the material Royalite , the weight is again reduced by approx. 15% compared to Royalex, which is due to the different upper material (R84, an acrylic / PVC mixture) over the ABS layer and an approx. 2/3 thinner ABS layer on the Inside is reached. The material is even more rigid and, thanks to the additional film coating on the surface, it is just as or better durable. However, this depends on the type of exposure. However, the bonding of anchor plates on R84 is more difficult, because most of the contact or PVC adhesives used for (PVC) anchors hold much worse than with the pure PVC skin of the regular Royalex.

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