Wrong. To remove material, no matter how little, is to weaken the hull. If you fished where I did Saturday, you'd probably paddle back to the put in and say F this place.
I floated, well, floated isn't the term. I fished 3.5 miles of an Ozark river that hasn't had significant rainfall in months and I put in right below a dam. I could paddle the first 100 yards, then had to drag, paddled another couple hundred, had to drag. I would guess I drug my boat over a mile across limestone rocks, trees, and river gravel that didn't get my ankles wet. I did, however, take 8th in the tournament we had that day. I looked at my creek boat, a cheap Ascend FS10, and saw a ton of scratches, none deep, and look forward to abusing it more.