: I am not going to rain on Bill's parade. However, I will offer my opinion.

: Bill's skin doesn't have flex, because of the 'glass and epoxy.

: I think one of the benefits of a SOF boat is the flex of the skin, and the
: frame. It's a bit more organic cutting through the water, especially in
: chop and slamming swell.

: On my non-flexible glued up Yost style wood frame, having some flex to the
: skin seems good to me. Not having give in the frame makes me nervous, so
: the next one will have deeper gunwales, and a lashed frame. But I paddle
: in ocean swell sometimes, and surf in shore break. On the other hand,
: plywood frame and stringer construction Kleppers have made trans-oceanic
: expeditions.

: On the other hand, a nice strip built or stitch and glue (or commercial glass
: boat) is also nice.

: Dang, I've got too many other hands in this post.

: I think the proper response is to have a hard boat for expeditions, and your
: favorite flavor of SOF to be a lighter, easier to manage day tripper. I'm
: at the point now where 4-5 different boats ought to be enough

: Brian

Hi Brian,

One problem with these materials is defining the terms. When I said the skin has no stretch I meant that it's weave doesn't move on itself like nylon does. That doesn't mean the skin is rigid by any means. It's just as flexible as any other SOF material. You have to remember that this stuff is very thin, it's only using around 3 ounce dacron and up to 6 ounce fiberglass, one layer. Try it, you might be surprised.

Bill H.