Peter said: <<< I've always been very impressed by people who could keep their boats looking that good. One time that impressed me most was when I came through some quite small surf tipped out of my boat and found myself making very slow progress through an along shore current in a gutter, which was carrying me to a rip near a river mouth. This was two years ago, the boat was new and tippier than I was used to and I hadn't learn't to reenter it properly. Johno had promised to get me out of trouble if I tipped, which he proceeded to do. And I'll always remember his words "Now the way we're going to do this we'll not scratch the boats". All the best, PeterO >>> I take pride in my battle scars (well, not my leg). I'd say my boat looks 20 years old about every 5 years. However, its very easy to sand down and repaint with two part marine paint, leaving it looking like new. My wife's McNulty Huntsman was originally orange gelcoat, then painted British Racing Green. Scratches looked terrible. Re-painting it bright orange leaves it in a better position to receive the odd scratch without being so noticeable. I'd repaint the boats with real gelcoat if I didn't have so many epoxy hull repairs, which impair polyester gelcoat bonding. Speaking of boarder crossings, I once went down to Seattle, Washington -- from Canada -- to buy a whole lot of expensive kayak gear and outdoor equipment. Back then, Victoria didn't have much to offer (now its a WHOLE lot different). I removed all packaging and price tags, skillfully placed the right about of dirt and scratches on the various purchases, then headed for the boarder crossing with all the new gear stored in the kayak's hatches. Keeping a straight face, I said "nothing to declare." Now don't get me wrong or anything, I'm as protectionist as any Canadian, but the tariffs were unfair in my opinion, as I couldn't buy that kind of gear in Canada. Well, I got home, proud of my huge savings, and guess what? Yeap, all the gear was gone! Must gave been taken while the car/kayak was parked somewhere in Seattle while I was attending a WKC function. The gods and/or God was smirking. DL *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
PeterO wrote: Emile Zen wrote: - >the polite lady from Canada Customs seemed interested and impressed by >the boat. "Looks just like new" she said. My comments: I must decline this unwarranted praise. I think Keith Rodgers made the remark about the polite lady and the impressive boat. Mine (a Feathercraft) was folded in its pack and buried under other luggage in the car's trunk, among the Graham-cracker crumbs and other things. (It would never impress anyone but me.) G'Day to all. Emile *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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