Epoxy w/ S-glass bottoms came about because of the sailing conditions in New Mexico. The lake shores I mostly sail are a mix of mud and rocks, rocks of varying size and usually not too visible. There is a lake at the south end of the state which is mostly sandy but there are always the old campfire places which are generally a ring of rocks and because the lake levels are not stable the old fire pits become a nuisance. Also, coming ashore in 20 plus MPH wind single handed is a bit much for me at 150 lbs.

I don’t regret for a minute doing the modification because my hulls are so tough, easily tougher than H18s and in some instances tougher than H16s. I haven’t had to repair a single ding to the epoxy s-glass bottoms, all that happens is that the paint gets scraped off.

Individually, I think the hulls are a lot stouter, less twisting and bending.