For me, there is beauty in a well-used boat. A few repairs, a few unrepaired battle scars, a spot or two (not the whole boat) of peeling varnish. Paddle scratches on the deck, rock and barnacle scratches in the hull, and an ear-to-ear grin on the face of the paddler. Gorgeous!

Shawn

: I spent lots of time and worry trying to avoid anything that might
: damage my strippers. I was careful when I sat the boats on the shore,
: careful getting in and out of the water, careful loading and unloading,
: and constantly looking out for obstacles that might damage them.
: But you can't enjoy paddling if you constantly worry about scratching
: the damaging the boats. Though I was careful, damage is unavoidable.

: And repairs , at least for me, were difficult to master as the kayaks
: never looked as good as before. I even painted the hulls on my last
: couple of strippers to lessen the visual impact of damage. But I
: figured that if I was going to paint them, why bother making
: them as strippers.

: That's one of the reasons I switched to SOF. They may appear more
: fragile, but in reality are able to withstand much abuse due to the
: flexible frames and skins. ( Bend don't break). Repairs are easy,
: and a patch here and there adds character. Nothing is prettier than
: a wood/fiberglass kayak, nor is anything harder to keep looking
: that way.

: I am in awe of the workmanship I see on this forum, but for my
: money, give me a good old "working boat" SOF for paddling, and
: a beautiful stripper for display.

: Tom