A frequent observation I've had regarding regarding the perceived durability of Skin on Frame kayaks is that many people seem to be under the mistaken impression that they are fragile things. I was skeptical until I built one, especially about the abrasion durability of the skin as it encounters barnacled rocks on the beach. This first SOF I built was the kayak you saw at R2K8 last summer. Its destruction was not intended as a "proof" of anything. It was in need of a reconfiguration requiring, and and since it would be needing new ribs & skin, I thought that it would be interesting to see just what sort of abuse it would take.

I'll have to compile some and post some of the video of the event. I'm not sure what you would classify as "kid gloves", but I would imagine that the repeated pounding that it was given with the framing hammer would have holed a fiberglass or strip boat on the first impact. On the SOF, I pounded on the skin as hard as I could for several dozen whacks. The fabric was only slightly stretched and would have rebounded back to normal in a hour or two. I think even a plastic kayak would have had problems with this one. In the ten foot drop test would most likely have necessitated repair of a glass or wood kayak. The SOF bounced. The bowling ball drop cracked a rib and the keel stringer, but not to the extent that you couldn't have still paddled it home in that condition. My feeling was that if I tried this on my S&G, that I would have had a big splintered hole. And regarding abrasion resistance, dragging the kayak with passenger around the parking lot and over parking curbs yielded only minor surface defects that were barely noticeable. It was only with difficulty that we were able to penetrate the skin with oyster shells. I was also impressed with how well it withstood the re-bar pounding, the phillips screwdriver, and the pocket knife tests. If you thought this was "kid gloves", I really wish you would have said something at the time and I would gladly have let you take a whack at it.

So, are SOF's tough? Absolutely! Are they tougher than other kayaks? By some measures they certainly are, by others, maybe not. Clearly, the SOF is not the answer every kayaking application, nor it its durability the answer to every way in which a kayak may be used/abused. But, the SOF is far tougher than people generally give them credit for, and the pounding we gave my kayak at R2K8 certainly reinforced that in my estimation.

-John D.

: I have been wondering how strong SOF really are.
: The video in post below is impressive but wouldn't a S&G or stripper boat be
: able to endure similar treatment, only with more scratches?
: Last year I was at Wooden Kayak Rendezvous at Port Townsend. One of the
: attendees was touting the strength of SOF kayaks. As a 'proof' he
: performed a SOF abuse demonstration where in fact he "abused"
: the SOF with kid gloves. The impression I got was the opposite of what was
: intended: SOF fabric is not as strong as composite skin of S&G or
: stripper.
: How about this general theory?: -SOFs are more likely to survive a sudden,
: catastrophic impact of great force, ex kayak falling off the roof racks at
: freeway speeds.
: -Glass boats are stronger when it comes to less severe but more frequent
: abuse, ex running over sharp rocks on the sea floor.
: The first case will save your SOF but is much less likely to happen compared
: to second.
: Last but not least, skin on SOF needs replacement once in a while while
: properly maintained glass boat will last nearly forever.