Denny wrote:
.. It has been my impression that
deploying the chute causes irrepairable damage to the hull..


No... not the deployment.. the landing. And even that isn't always the
case. There has been a deployment or two where the plane landed on brush
or trees, cushioning the landing, and the plane was salvageable.

The grooves where the chute straps lie on the airframe are a matter of
putting a single layer of fiberglass over to repair (after the chute is
re-installed).

Dave