Wow, I go away for the weekend and all kind of excitement breaks out back at the old BBS.

George's is the only report of catastrophic damage I have heard from such benign conditions. I once bruised the glass below the water line while messing around in some easy class 2 white water. The resulting 1.5" diameter damage was enough to let some water get to the wood. As a test I did not nothing to the boat right away and put another 500+ miles on the boat before attempting any fix.

After two years I "fixed" it by covering the bruise with varnish. There is a slight discoloring (about 2" diameter) of the wood where the water stained it but nothing I could call catastrophic resulted.

Like George's experience this is just one anecdotal case and should not be considered proof of much of any thing, but it does suggest that a boat built with 4 oz glass can sustain visible damage and survive.

It is certainly possible to destroy a strip-built boat. Like anything there will be a level of force beyond which the boat will break, and the ocean is capable of generating much greater forces. If you think you will be abusing your boat more than the average paddler or if you just want some added peace of mind, add more glass. But the "standard" layup has worked well for a lot of paddlers for a long time and will probably prove satisfactory for you.

: After spending the past 6 months bulding my Georgian Bay, I'm starting to see
: the light at the end of the tunnel. I used a pretty basic 6 oz layup
: inside and out on the hull and 4 oz on the deck, reinforced at key areas.
: I'm looking forward to getting out on Lake Superior with my cronies in
: their Current Designs boats. Imagine my dismay when I stumbled upon George
: Roberts' site and read his review of the strip-building techniques I
: followed,

: "After a proper period of curing I put the boat in the water and paddled
: to Mackinaw Island from the mainland. Landing in 6" chop on a shore
: comprised of sand with a few 6" diameter rocks put a hole in the hull
: - a 12" tear through the cloth and along the strips in the
: hull."

: What the??!!! Now, while George may be a bit abrasive from time to time, I've
: had no reason to believe he was actually insane. Has anybody here
: experienced catastrophic failure in such gentle conditions as George
: described?

: Worried in Wisconsin
: (Jim)