Almost all the boats I build for myself are experimental, test craft...or I just plain use them hard. I have no shame. I certainly don't recommend running into rocks, trees, and stumps with a strip built or S&G...BUT it's nice to know that they can take a lot of abuse. If one anticipates rough use then one should prepare for it. I didn't originally plan on using my boat for marathon racing...but...what the heck. I will retire it from racing Dec. 6th, clean it up, finish the fill coats (yes...they are not done yet), and varnish it. I'll build a S&G for next years racing. I'll be experimenting a lot with S glass cloth before I go on to carbon fiber and kevlar. In fact...if the S glass proves suitable I'll stick with it. Anyway...don't go out and look for any rocks to hit. One will come for you someday.