> I am considering building a strip kayak, however I question how durable
> they are for use in streams where faster moving water and rocks are
> prevelant. Could anyone share their experience with me. Thanks...

Build it. It is durable.

Anything will eventualy break if you bash it enough. Since you will have built your own boat, you will be perfectly equipped o do any necessary repairs tha may arise over the life of your boat -- however long that life may be.

A bashed in bottom? Replace the strips and re 'glass the area.

Boat snapped in half? Replace some strips and re fiberglass the area.

Boat crushed to fine particles? Replace ALL the strips ( use the original forms) and fiberglass like you did the first time. Of course, at this point you really have a new boat.

The cover of "Canoecraft" by Ted Moores and Merlyn Mohr has a photo of two canoes. One is of recent construction the other was constructed at the turn of the last century, which should make it about 100 years old.

The construction of kayaks from wood strips is rather recent, however canoes have been built using this technique for a long time, and they have proven themselves to be reliably durable.

There are no scales for durability that I know of that can be used to rate various methods of construction. I have not seen aluminum kayaks, although I know that aluminum canoes are widely used on rocky rivers. The alternate materials are plastics or wood. The ease with which you can make a repair is something that should be considered.

With a polyethylene boat you will have to weld the plastic. Do you have the skills and equipment to do this easily and neatly?

With a fiberglass boat you will need to repair damaged areas. If you built the boat you should have the materials and skills to do this.

Wood boats covered with fiberglass fall into the same category as fiberglass. You can repair them yourself, and you will have lots of practice working with the materials as you build the boat, so your repairs will be undistinguishable from original areas, and as strong as the original construction.

Solid fiberglass boats tend to be less flexible (brittle) than the 'glass-covered woodstrip boats which have thinner layers of fiberglass, and can flex a bit when they hit a rock.

Since the inner and outer layers of fiberglass are bonded to the wood, damage to the outer skin may be contained at that point, leaving the wood and inner skin intact. Or, the outer skin may be penetrated, and the wood damaged tothe point where it pulls away from th einner skin. In both of these cases the interior of the boat stays dry as the interior skin is intact. In really severe cases the hull may be penetrated, in which case you patch it with duct tape and keep on paddling until a more permanent repair can be made.

The big problem with strip built boats, as I see it, is that they look so darn good that most people are afraid to take them into the nastiest of places, for fear they might scratch them. Well, they WILL get scratched. Live with it and patch the scratches or varnish over them at the end of the season.

The oldest strip built boat I have personally seen would be about 24 years old this year. I last sawit 3 years ago when it had just be refinished. It was a C-2 racing canoe built from pine strips (3/16 inch thick) Oiginally it had been covered with polyester resin and fiberglass cloth. The owner had sanded off all of that after 20 years of service, and recovered it with glass cloth and epoxy resin.

I am assuming that many of the aspects of canoe durability can be extended to kayaks.

Hope this helps.

Paul G. Jacobson