opisska
rabid twitcher
I would just like to note that the inflatable canoe that we have is probably more resilient to mechanical damage that many hard-sided boats, especially plastic ones. It's by a Czech company Gumotex, but it's well known among european water-sports enthusiasts and it's designed for white water (there are other similar models that can handle basically any difficulty that is doable in any kind of open boat, ours is less capable only because it does not have a system to get rid of water splash, which is irrelevant here). If anyone is looking for a travel boat that can take some abuse, it's really worth checking out Gumotex products - it's quite heavy (I think it has almost 20 kg) but it is worth it. We used to go on a "camping boat" which was much lighter but also much more fragile and I was always afraid it breaks; in Danube delta, we actually had a small "lifeboat" on a leash in case the main one breaks, but after what we did with this canoe, I think breaking is very low on the list of things I am afraid of, it is still behind being eaten by a jaguar