I'm about to cut out the hatches in a Spring Run I'm building. I was thinking about this conversation and considering whether or not to glass the edges and inspected the hatch edges of a 2 yr old Spring Run I previously built. The boat has been used quite a bit but not abused and always stored inside. When I inspected the hatches, I noted no issues but I did notice a whole bunch of scratches on the hull. None of them require any maintenance or refinishing just yet but when they do, will probably look new again.

Since building my first wood kayak, I have to a large degree, gotten over trying to maintain the boats I use regularly in the condition they were in when new. Just like my old truck, it's got signs of use but still does the job just fine... As Etienne indicated, a couple of coats of epoxy on the edges will last a long time and if I do get a bit of water penetration and it leaves a dark spot when repaired, so what. Likely, no one but the builder will ever notice anyway and if someone else points it out, I can say "yep, it's a dark spot"...

I'll just keep on paddling and enjoying the boat.

Bob Beaullieu