Featured Customer: Hellbender Outdoors Slalom Canoes and Kayaks
As a former member of US Whitewater teams, a competitor in World Championships and a designer, Chief Craftsman and CEO of Hellbender Outdoors, Dan Meyers is an expert at creating slalom canoes and kayaks. When he began designing and prototyping in 2016, he searched the web and found Fibre Glast. Not finding many providers of professional quality materials, Dan says that Fibre Glast had everthing that he was looking for in one location.
"The product selection at Fibre Glast has allowed us to go from concept to production boat without going anywhere else. It is literally a one stop shop in terms of materials and information. Fibre Glast has always been a great resource."
In the 1980's The U.S. dominated the sport and were leaders in design and innovation. The custom-designed slalom boat that Hellbender created in 2016 was the first one designed in the United States in decades, as quality race boats had previously been available from Slovenia and other places in Europe. His designs caught the attention of one of the top women racers in the U.S. Dan says 'life got in the way' of moving forward, but he has returned to design and production with a passion for being a catalyst for innovation for American paddlers.
Now, Hellbender production boats are made from carbon fibre or KEVLAR / Carbon Hybrid and epoxy. Dan went through a process of trial and error, sometimes the parts were ruined by not using the correct resin. The learning center helped troubleshoot the issues and allowed him to learn more in depth. His boats are created using System 2000 Laminating Epoxy Resin and the vacuum infusion process.
Dan has found our High Solids Primer to be the best method to use, and he believes that Chromaglast Paints are the best product for providing color to his boats.
Best of luck with all your designs Dan, keep up the great work!