"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
what about scratches? the question of repairing molded plastic boats came
up today in rec.boats.building. the rule of thumb is one season's
scratches reduces canoe and kayak hull speed 5% (increases hull resistance
about 5%). not much of a concern to white water paddlers perhaps but
purveyors of moulded plastic kayaks expect purchasers to pay thousands of
dollars for surperior performance over long distances.

That 5% figure sounds awfully high to me. I bet you would see more of a
performance hit in speed from wind, current, and waves.

Although I usually paddle a glass boat, I have paddled friends plastic boats
and also own a plastic SOT for banging around rocks and caves and I have
never noticed any difference in speed.

BTW, what plastic boat have you found that costs thousands of dollars? I'd
sure like to see it and try it.

Steve Holtzman