OK. Have been hanging on to my trusty Gruman because I have always flipped it in camp to use as a working area/table. I put stoves, hot pots, lighter gear (a lot), whatever on top of the bottom without fear of damage. Considering a switch to Kevlar and thinking will have to give up this benefit of "carrying the weight". Anyone able to say yea or nay to the ability to use Kevlar in this manner? Unfortunately, think I already know the answer.

I would only use it for cleaning fish or reading a map. Or playing cards or rolling dice.
Yep - you know the answer.

I flip my kevlar for a table all the time. Just no stove or hot pots on it.

marsonite: "I flip my kevlar for a table all the time. Just no stove or hot pots on it. "

Yep

We use them as tables for food prep, we thin cutting sheets/boards that we use to cut food/clean fish on. I treat it like a dining room table at home, I don't put hot pots on that or cut into it with knives either, but still use it as a table. They are not fragile, just use common sense. I have cooked on it with a heat deflector below the burner, but generally find another spot to use for the camp stove.

alpinebrule: "OK. Have been hanging on to my trusty Gruman because I have always flipped it in camp to use as a working area/table. I put stoves, hot pots, lighter gear (a lot), whatever on top of the bottom without fear of damage. Considering a switch to Kevlar and thinking will have to give up this benefit of "carrying the weight". Anyone able to say yea or nay to the ability to use Kevlar in this manner? Unfortunately, think I already know the answer.
"

The enormous weight savings of Kevlar to to the "trusty Gruman" gives you nearly unlimited options.
For example: Pack a couple Silpat silicone baking mats to protect your canoe from hot pans.
Pack a small backpacking , foldable table and avoid using the canoe as a table entirely.
Build an accessory table that lies over the Kevlar surface. etc, ect..

Apply a bit of creativity and the utility on the the aluminumm canoe can easily be retained with all the benefits the Kevlar canoe will provide.

Good Luck

There is a pic out there somewhere of a half moon hole melted into the bottom of a kevlar canoe from using it as a cooking table. Can't seem to find it right off, but I know it's happened. Plenty of other cook surface options that don't end your trip quite as quickly.

We have a Kevlar, royalex and several aluminum canoes. On rivers without portages, I prefer the aluminum canoes and one reason is they make excellent tables. We put small logs under each end to stabilize them and cook on them then we use as tables for meals. This weekend we set traps for blue crabs on salt water and used a aluminum canoe because of resistance to damage and stability. Aluminum canoes still have a good following but not to be used on portages. I portaged them when I was younger but at 75 years old, they are too heavy for me.

Certainly yes it works well for a game of cards or food prep surface. For filleting fish or cutting things I'd still use a cutting board on top. Never in a million years would I use a stove directly on top of the boat without a piece of plywood or other insulating material acting as underlayment, and certainly more than just the flashing heat shield MSR includes with their stoves. Heat softens epoxy and other resins.

You'll save thirty pounds switching from aluminum to kevlar. A Helinox Table One Hardtop weighs 2.5 pounds. And the added cost will be practically insignificant compared to the cost of the kevlar canoe, too. It's smaller than the bottom of a canoe but it's also truly flat. Your canoe is your transportation, and with that weight savings you can handle the extra gear.