C-Forum

I have a Quake that I bought used a couple of years ago and have paddled it a bunch. The hull has rub marks on it from rocks like aged Royalex. I have a L'Edge that I have paddled 7 days now and it is all cut up and gashed just like a new soft Royalex boat would be.

When I got my Ocoee I left it out in the sun for the first year when I wasn't paddling it and the hull hardened up nicely. At first it peeled, now it just rubs (but not as tough as the Quake).

Should I be leaving the L'Edge out in the sun? Will the plastic harden up with time? Even brand new they seem to be prone to cracking. And I do understand that some sun can be good, but too much can be bad.

it's plastic don't worry about it. the first few scratches stand out but after a few more days you won't even notice.
unlike royalex the plastic is solid

You also may be comparing apples to crab-apples. The Quake seems to be considered one of the toughest of the plastic OC-1s.

eddyhops wrote:You also may be comparing apples to crab-apples. The Quake seems to be considered one of the toughest of the plastic OC-1s.

Every Quake I've seen has been built like a rock, but I'm not sure why. The one I had would abrade but not leave any plastic behind, giving the hull almost a fuzzy texture.

My other plastic boats all get scraped and gouged, but hey, it is part of the game. I don't think anything you do to the L'Edge (or any other plastic boat) will really toughen it up.

Only the first scratches hurt. After my first real day of creeking in my Option I don't feel so bad about boofing things and running slides, nor do I notice much of a chance in how the bottom of my hull looks.