: Anyone ever built a whitewater stripper? Personally I could care less if it
: gets scratched up thats what sand paper is for. I am wondering if two
: layers of 6 0z cloth would be strong enough, on 1/4 inch strips? Any ideas
: would be appreciated. I came upon a nice quantity of redwood and need a
: reason to put it in the garage. I stress again, this is not going to be a
: work of art, just something to play with and keep the skills with the
: plane up to snuff.

: Keep building, Elliott

After reading this thread I had to put in my $0.02. Here are several pics of me in a stripper (Jerry) doing enders at a local play spot. I have also taken this boat down the Snake River Alpine Canyon, the Weber and West Water Canyon on the Colorado (all class III). This last week end I ran it down a the staircase section of the So. fork of the Payette (class III+ IV-). This boat has a glass/poly/glass/cotten/glass layup on the outside of the hull with glass inside, and is still lighter than most plastic play boats of the same size.

http://dejabru.webpipe.net/image/ender1.jpg
http://dejabru.webpipe.net/image/ender2.jpg
http://dejabru.webpipe.net/image/line.jpg

Its all a matter of practice. Learn in plastic, run places you are familiar with so you know the lines, learn to read the water, and anticipate your need for moves in addvance. This boat and the other two I have built are very durable. My next plan is to build a boat with a glass poly hull and a stripper deck.

YMMV, but I prefer these boats over my tupperware and I feel plenty safe using them as WW craft.

Hafte