: Has anyone ever tested the relative strength of stitch and glue, strip, SoF
: against the ubiquitous plastic and fiberglass commercial offerings?

The best test I can think of is time. The longest-lasting commercially made kayaks which I know of are Kleppers. www.klepper.com With modest care they expect their hypalon-coated hulls to last well over 25 years. They've been making these things for a century, so they have a good database from which to draw those answers. As for the rest of the boat, should there be a failure of any component it is simply replaced. Or, if you want to save money, you can easily make the replacement wood parts.

If anyone teases you about a boat being 'fragile as a bubble', the proper response is to remind them that life rafts are usually inflatables, and they can survive in seas which caused the big, rigid steel ship to sink.

If that image doesn't rock them, add that the boats used commercially in 'shooting' rapids are all soft-sided inflatables, which just bounce off the rocks.

Inflatables rely on air pressure to keep the tubes in shape. A small puncture causes a slow leak, which slowly causes the boat to change shape. Put that same durable skin on a frame of wood, plastic, or metal and there is no concern about air loss, or change in hull shape or displacement. Small leaks are just a trivial matter to repair with duct tape.

Just my opinion.

PGJ