Carbon fibre is an aramid which is an aromatic polyamide, better known by trade names such as Kevlar (DuPont) and is produced by spinning a solid fibre from solution. Applications include boat hulls, sails, bullet proof vests and aircraft parts to mention a few. The main difference between “Carbon” and “Graphite” fibres is that they have differing amounts of carbon in their make-up but, basically, they are not dissimilar so that they can be interchangeable. These fibres are not subject to stress rupture as with glass fibres and high temperature performance is exceptional. Carbon fiber offers the highest strength and stiffness of all commonly used reinforcement fibres but the major setback is their high cost. Not withstanding the cost, carbon fibre and engineered fabrics using carbon and graphite fibre, play an important role in many marine applications where certain design standards are demanded however, the price of this material would need to come a long way down the scale before we could recommend it for general purpose use in boat building.