I use a stripper all the time. However, you are going to get at least minor damage. If you want to treat your canoe as a piece of furniture, and want it always to look good, paddle it on quiet ponds near home and don't take it.

The good side is, strippers are the easiest canoe to repair and you are totally able to fix it yourself. Minor repairs will not be noticed. Also, strippers hold up better than you would expect. Generally you will have only scratches and scrapes on the bottom. Once you get home, sanding them out and re-varnishing usually takes care of it. Some gouges may take a little epoxy coating. If you put a hole in it, fiberglassing is easily mastered.

Two years ago a friend dropped a brand new stripper I made at the end of the portage -- about day 3 of a 10 day trip. She was devistated. I was calm. I told her those things happen and that it was easily repaired. It had two holes in it - one the size of a tennis ball, the other the size of a golf ball. I repaired both on the spot with duct tape. It help up great - didn't leak a drop. In fact I waited till the winter months to repair it and used it several more times with the duct tape patch.

In the winter, in my basement, I cut away the bad stuff, pushed the wood back into place, applied a fiberglass patch inside and out, then a second layer over the first. The patched area is actually stronger than the rest of the canoe. You really have to look for the golf ball-sized hole. The tennis ball-sized hole is more noticeable, but I figure that is character.

I don't hesitate to take a stripper, but I also bring a roll of duct tape.

In reply to: Wooden Ships on the Water ... Anybody Taken a Cedar Stripper into the Wilderness? posted by Mark on August 10, 1999 at 17:51