How about Dyson's aluminum-framed Baidarkas, with the 26 oz nylon skin and hypalon coating. That is basically seat belt material coated with rubber raft material. That is about as close to maintenance-free as you are going to get.

Everyone worries about the skin, but the polyester skin on my Putz kayak is holding up much better than the frame. I've bashed it on barnacle covered rocks, and landed on many gravel beaches.

Mike

: but wouldn't

: Unfortunatly the is no such thing as a maintenance-free boat, Frequency of
: maintenance is directly proportanial to ease of maintenance. You won't
: have to work on the fiberglass much, but when you do it sucks.
: Bob