: Paul, thanks for the thoughtful response. The question, though, is how
: today's strip and S&G kayaks with a typical layup stand up, in a strength
: and impact resistance standpoint, against the commercially-available
: composite kayaks. Simply curious.

: Of course there is a lot of variability in construction, but if someone,
: somewhere has done actual testing related to this, or have other
: comparative information, I would like to learn from it.

Lee has pointed out that due to variability in hull shapes, purely analytical testing would be an academic pursuit that might be very involved, and give little useful information. I happen to agree with that view.

However, there is another form of testing which we can employ, and that is what is known as "the test of time".

If you want to know if a plywood kayak holds up as well as a fiberglass one over a long period of time, then you keep both in use and see which one lasts longer. Strip built kayaks are not the norm, and are fairly new to the scene, but right now ( at least to my eyes) it looks like a draw. The life span of these boats should be nearly equal.

Remember that the strip and plywood kayaks being built now are covered with fiberglass and epoxy resin. In effect they will age like a fiberglass kayak made with epoxy resin (most are made with a polyester resin, though) The polyester is more UV resistant, but more brittle. It cracks easier than epoxy, which flexes a bit more ( These are generalities, with differences between brands of resins). The UV matter is resolved by keeping a layer of a UV absorbing varnish over the surface of the epoxy-coated boats.

The ease of repair with a wood-cored boat, and the ability to remove an entire glass covering and replace it, adds to the lifelong beauty of the wood-cored over a span of 10 to 30 years. That is about the lifespan of a commercial fiberglass boat. And that is certainly long enough. By then you would have a newer boat.

Should any of these boats last longer, say 40 years, they would be very old boats, and even if in perfect condition, they would not likely be paddled as often -- probably because they would have been replaced with a different design long before -- and that newer design would be the paddlers current favorite. In other words, the newer toys (or boats) get played with more than the older ones.

Seasonal upkeep on the wood-cored boat is an additional expense of time, labor, and materials (sandpaper and varnish mainly) but, like waxing and washing an automobile, it keeps the boat looking "new" for many years.

I have seen a 25 year old strip built canoe which was refinished. The ployester based fiberglas was removed and replaced with epoxy based fiberglass. It looked like brand new. I've never seen a factory built fiberglass kayak that old, although I have seen a Klepper which was older (about 30 years) and I understand the current life expectancy of the materials in a Klepper hull (skin)is now about 50 years. Other than those facts, please consider that these are just my opinions, but I hope they help.

PGJ