Looking at my beat up forms (preparation phase) for my exp single lying on the floor in a rat eared heap after the great jig saw massacre: I probably didn't let the 3 x cans ($30 NZ) of spray-on ados dry off enough before launching forth like a maniac. But the jig saw blade chewed up the edges and sometimes the jig saw base 'chipped in' and gouged up significant chunks of what was left.

Fortunately the little end ones wouldn't fit under the jig saw and I had to take them to the bandsaw at work.

Band saw neat and tidy. Band saw good!

Good news is that with a little fine tuning my jig-chewed forms are very close and the reference lines are in tact. So the build is going to be ok, just the forms don't look as pretty as the ones in Nicks book. I kid myself that there is still hope that the end product will be prettier.

My question is: what happens to all the pretty kayaks, new and shiney just after being built (and frequently pictured on this board) get thrashed for a couple of years. Do they look like train wrecks? Is all the effort to make them and those good looks going to last beyond the first year?

or ...

Like me, will they age badly and look older than what they actually are ... they have just had a hard life ?