Brian :

Thanks for your opinion and view of paddlesport. Maybe you need to expand your horizons a bit. Paddlesport includes a wide spectrum
of instruction, not just moving water and rocky bottoms. There are many kinds of instruction that does not involve scratching hulls
and being hard on equipment. In fact, more of that than not. They perhaps are not part of your world or your venue. I've been around
this for a long while and realize that many people tend to believe that their milieu is the only thing going and it is to them.
Most instruction does not involve basic river or white water, but is done in calm venues. I started out instructing moving and
whitewater and felt as though this was "the paddling world". Once I got off of rivers and went on to other things, I fianlly
realized that worldwide, most hulls are paddled on fla****er without rocks and hulls can and should be kept in good shape. I still
teach in venues in which I expect a hull to be scratched and accept that, but also teach in some where that does not happen and a
scratched up hull is a sign of poor control. Sounds to me as though you've had exposure to only certain types of venues and your
priorities are a bit narrow.

Te Canaille


"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message ...
Te Canaille wrote:

Fact is this hull is a loaner used in fla****er instruction clinics and it needs to look sharp.

Honestly, if I ever saw an instructor with a super shiny boat, I'd go
elsewhere. Instructing, by its very nature, is hard on equipment. I
don't see how an instructor could keep up with dealing with daily dings
and scratches, and keep a boat looking pristine. For that matter, I
don't know why one would want to. Nothing personal, but it strikes me
that your priorities (or those of the instructor involved) may be a bit
out of line. I have to agree with the others here, form follows function.