: I have learned to live with scratches and the best I can do to
: accept them is to think of them as badges of honor or battle
: scars, because its not always possible to have a nice launch in
: 6" of water or land on a soft sand beach. Just wondering
: what you other builders out there do to avoid/deal with using
: your boat.

One option is to built a comperable SOF design that can be used as an alternative to
an easily scratched stripper, especially when conditions warrant.

A potential patch on an SOF skin is a non-issue vs a potential deep gouge in a strip boat.
A patched skin is easy to accomplish, and hardly noticable...Out of sight, out of mind.

I've been paddling my strippers recently, and the care required on the shore, and in shallow water
are almost not worth the effort, unless it doesn't matter to you... though it does to me.
My SOF's on the other hand get set down anywhere on a rocky shore, and require far less attention.

Strippers are a thing of beauty however, and that's why I build them in the first place.

Tom

My 15 year old SOF Baidarka and newest glassless stripper at the lake. The Neoprene / Hypalon coatings
on the SOF have proven extremely durable. I've varnished a few small scratches on the stripper so far.