I used a snow ski product called "Scuff Tuff"it is a clear plastic, it seemed to do an excellent job protecting the boat from a lot of scratched. I placed it on the first and last 2 feet of the bow and stern right were I thought I would get a lot of scratches, this was right before a 10 day trip into the BWCA. I did this only to one of the two boats we took.

It is all shredded up by the time I got home, but the boat has very few significant scratches in that area. The bow of the other boat looks terrible in comparison, it has lost all of its varnish and has turned white from the epoxy being scrapped so many times.

It was a little hard to get the stuff one because of the curvature but I think I will use the stuff again, as it should save me a little varnishing time (4+ hours).

Jason