Maybe so, but
most plastic boats, including mine for sure, end up with LOTS of scratches from use. Its the Felix and Oscar thing played out in the world of kayaks. I’m definitely an Oscar. In my view it takes incredible effort and care to avoid scratches in a plastic kayak. On the other hand, scratches from normal use don’t cause any problems whatsoever, inmho. Also, if he did any paddling in white water or rock gardening I doubt even Felix could avoid getting tons scratches in a plastic kayak.
I see the dents as another matter because even though it isn’t a racing kayak they still bug me and it is not hard to avoid the dents - just store the kayak on edge.
agree
But my composite boats have scratches.
Ryan L.
Yep
Not that simple…
…ABS/thermoform doesn’t seem to have these problems, or at least it’s not common.
And that’s plastic, too.
Deformed boat
Kayaks and canoes get wrecked often from tying them down too tightly on racks and improper transport. sounds like that is what happened with yours. Take it back and get a new boat. If the dents are easy to fix with some heat, the dealer will have no problem fixing your boat.
Different perspective
Depending on what kayaking means to you, and where you paddle, it isn’t always possible/practical/advisable to avoid scratches, no matter how careful you are.
My flatwater racing boats don’t have a scratch (save for the occasional encounter with a submerged log) but my touring boats don’t have that luxury.
Good luck finding a well-used poly white water kayak with a “showroom smooth” hull or an unblemished touring hull that has been used in shallow bays around oysters, for playing in rock-gardens, for surf landings on rocky beaches and for assisted rescue practice, etc, etc… While in some cases you can gently exit your kayak before you land, in many situations this is not possible or is life-threatening.
I treat the hulls of my touring boats like the bed of a work-truck – they have a job to do. That said, all my kayaks (poly, glass and carbon) are “babied” by being rinsed after use and stored in slings out of the sun. As always YMMV.
Greg Stamer
I’ve had a dozen poly boats and they all
popped in and out. The best was a brand new Perception Acadia which still popped, just not as much. The new Acadias are thinner and pop as much as any other boat. The true value of poly is in rock bashing. Its the only material that can take it and oil caning is just something you have to accept.