I think it is important to remember that with the boats you are talking about you are on or past the limits with which the rules are designed to deal. All the underlying engineering is still applicable, yes. However the two factors of abuse by bumping into things and concentration of weight become more and more of an issue. Please understand that these scantlings rules were not generally aimed at boats that can be portaged, easily by one person. I guess in some sense they work but you are on your own as far as deciding how much damage resistance you want, etc.

Tom MacNaughton

> This is kind of a no-brainer, if you are going to treat the boat rough,
> build it tough. Everyone will have to make some sort of judgement about
> how they are going to treat the boat. I would not design a boat for rare
> extreme occurances unless I thought there was a significant chance of it
> happening. I.e. if you are only paddling on a small lake, surf landings
> should not be engineered into the boat. If you spend a lot of time on the
> ocean or Great Lakes, and won't always have control over your landing, you
> should plan on a few surf landings and build the boat to handle some hard
> hits. If you are somewhere in between you will have to judge what you
> need. After you build it you need to use your own judgement as to whether
> you or the boat are ready for the conditions you intend to head out in.

> The scantlings seem to assume the occasional impact with rocks and pilings
> and, if applicable to a boat the size of a kayak, should give a layup that
> is sufficient for the occasional impact. From my discussions with him, Tom
> McNaughton seems to feel that the scantlings are applicable to low
> displacement boats such as a kayak.