Shins. Not "shims" - shins.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Until you are at a fancy event wearing shorts and you look like a weirdo because you have scars and discoloration from your knee to your ankle from weekly cuts. Ha ha.

Stop being so damn sensitive! I played rugby for 20 years - much of it at an elite level. At least your scars are down on your shins (although I have plenty down there too!) But after you've been kicked in the face and your nose broken half-a-dozen times, and your ears look like you've been boxing Mike Tyson, not many people look down at your shins!

And if you think things are bad on fibreglass (GRP) or wooden boats, try owning a steel one! Lots of corners everywhere and absolutely no give anywhere! But her strengths MORE than make up for her weaknesses.

[MicHughV]

Chotu,
Like you, I built my own boat. The bumps, bruises, cuts, etc, that I accumulated over the span of time it took to complete my build, were many. Interestingly enough, most were incurred during the early years, when holding a tool in my hand was still a novel feeling, but as time went past, this lessoned.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

Stop being so damn sensitive! I played rugby for 20 years - much of it at an elite level. At least your scars are down on your shins (although I have plenty down there too!) But after you've been kicked in the face and your nose broken half-a-dozen times, and your ears look like you've been boxing Mike Tyson, not many people look down at your shins!

And if you think things are bad on fibreglass (GRP) or wooden boats, try owning a steel one! Lots of corners everywhere and absolutely no give anywhere! But her strengths MORE than make up for her weaknesses.

Whoa!!!!

At least you have a cool story about yours. Rugby.

Mine is just I hit my shin on the boat. I hit my shin on the boat. And again and again and again and again ha ha.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Chotu,
Like you, I built my own boat. The bumps, bruises, cuts, etc, that I accumulated over the span of time it took to complete my build, were many. Interestingly enough, most were incurred during the early years, when holding a tool in my hand was still a novel feeling, but as time went past, this lessoned.

It was a little bit the opposite for me. This is the last thing I built. And I have already built a bunch of other stuff and refit a lot of boats. I was getting a little cocky. I was like yeah. I could build a boat. I’ve rebuilt all these boats. I’ve built these RVs. A boat? No problem. Ha ha ha.

The only thing I might build in the future is a tiny home. To die in. Lol when I can’t do this stuff anymore.

[Sailorichiban]

Hmmm,
Life is full of surprises, some good and not so good.
I have heard,”Don’t sweat the small stuff.”I think a good thought.
When I am feeling beat up I think the cars and boats of my age and am thankful!

[deltaten]

We had a saying on the boat.....
"If ya don't bleed, it ain't fixed"
The Commodore comes on deck, sees blood spatter and sez...
" Watcha fixin'?"
Funny thing is....I hardly ever bleed at the helm!

AFA at the Club....*real* sailors recognize and evaluate scars as experience. Armchair captains don't count anyway, so.....

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Does anyone else have this problem aside from me?

I feel like a freak when I put shorts on and everybody sees all the scars.

my shins are mangled from boats. Over and over and over again they get cut open.

it happens so often I don’t even feel it. There are no nerve endings left in my shins.

this is just the latest one from carrying a Jerry can up my transom steps and hitting my shin while doing that. Look below it. See all those scars? Those are permanent. And there are several more all over the place of varying shades. On both shins. From ankle to knee.

Unsightly business.

does this happen to you guys also?

Just consider them as battle scars--which means you are a man of action and courageous. Frankly you have better things to be concerned about.

[MicHughV]

Yep, I played some rugby in my youth...not a sport for the faint of heart.....besides all the bumps and bruisers, also get the dreaded grass burns...

[nwh10]

Among our friends, they're called MBI's - mysterious boating injuries. I have an assortment of colorful bruises all season.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Yep, I played some rugby in my youth...not a sport for the faint of heart.....besides all the bumps and bruisers, also get the dreaded grass burns...

Grass burns are bad - but the early artificial turf (Astroturf) was just TERRIBLE! It was carpet burns and sprained toes from getting caught in the seams. And so bloody hard! The carpet was laid directly over concrete.

Then there was the field the Canada geese loved. I once scored a try after being tackled on the 20 yard line!

And the local club whose only field was gravel. That was lots of fun too. They wore football pants to protect their knees but we only had our regular shorts.

Great game!

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Funny fact about many years spent snowboarding when growing up:

The back of those shins are completely hairless thanks to the friction of riding constantly.

Burned away all hair follicles back there where the boots/bindings rub.

So yeah. I guess extreme sports can be even worse.

The hair on my calves ends abruptly at work boot height, all the way around. Common.

[MicHughV]

Never had the pleasure of playing rugby on artificial turf...but have played on fields that were devoid of much grass, more like weeds and dirt.
Used to wear my socks up to my knees to avoid the worst of the burns..

It affected play though.....you'd run up to an opposing player, getting ready to tackle him, when you'd notice that particular part of the field was devoid of grass and you'd think ..." nah, I'll let him pass"....and make a token swipe at him to mollify the crowd..

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by geoleo

Just consider them as battle scars--which means you are a man of action and courageous. Frankly you have better things to be concerned about.

Many men from Prussia in Germany used to cut their own face so they would have a scar they could imply that came from dueling with swords and they were brave. lol so it goes----------

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by geoleo

Many men from Prussia in Germany used to cut their own face so they would have a scar they could imply that came from dueling with swords and they were brave. lol so it goes----------

Actually very often they were members of student fraternities and did duel with light sabres.
In the result carrying a scar called "Schmiss".

My granddad had one.

[Lowcountry]

"It ain't sailing until somebody's bleeding."