>

> My initial post was intended to gain some insight into his abilities.
> He has been rejected due to his poor judgement / lack of paddling
> skills.

> (Poor judgement) A 4mm plywood boat with fiberglass on both sides
> fails after your body fails. If he was concerned about possible damage
> to his boat, he should have been more concerned about damage to himself
> and stayed on shore.

> (lack of paddling skills) The way to prevent a spray skirt from
> popping is to lean forward and take the wave on your back. An alternate
> way is to roll so the bottom takes the wave (don't try this if you
> don't know the bottom profile).

I paddle in these conditions all the time. I AM an experienced paddler.I posted the original message for people like myself who ,when considering what type of kayak to build,wasn't sure as to the strength of "home built boats" compared to "manufactured" boats.