I wore thru the double fiberglass on the stems of my strip canoe on its' first outing to the 'Boundary Waters' (and I thought I was being careful). After patching the ends I attached with screws and adhesive a brass stem band made just for that purpose. Each band has a coved shape on its inside and a rounded shape on the outside. That stem band really has taken a beating but no more damage to the glass. Can't remember just where I got them but should still be availabe from suppliers.