: I would like some feedback from others on the necessity of having wear strips
: at the fore and aft hull.

: I have built two stripers and did not plane to a 3/8 or 1/2 inch wide and
: then cover with a hardwood wear strip. Instead, I planed and sanded to
: about a 1/4" radius then I ran a 2" wide 10oz glass tape down
: the entire keel, feathered, then put on two layers 6oz glass. I must admit
: that the kayaks have taken quite a bit of abuse and need to be
: "touched up" especially at the aft end.

: I personally like the look of narrower ends. I also kind of have the feeling
: that many people place this strip at the ends to "clean up" if
: the strips did not come out nicely at the ends.

: Am I off base here?

I don't think that either method is better than the other, just different. On the two boats I have built previously and the one I am currently working on (Arica's Silver) I've used both inside and out side stems fore and aft not because of mistakes or trying to hide poor workmanship but because that is what the the designer called for. I believe the inside and outside stem concept comes from tarditional boat building methods. They can be shaped and faired to just as narrow an end if that is what you like. They provide a strong solid structure for the boat and they eliminate the need for doing an end pour of epoxy to seal and make solid the ends of the boat. They also provide an interesting design option when building the hull, the chance to use a contrasting wood to define the lines of the boat. Guillemott, Laughing Loon, & One Ocean all design their kayaks without inside stems and outside stems are optional, Redfish and Bear Mountian kayaks design their kayaks to be built with both inside and outside stems. But any of these designs could be built well either way.