I never have enough scrap, because it always freaks me out to even have a single hull damage.
I'm freaking out man.
While it's good to repair, it's even better to invest in your ship. You accrue a lot of things that you can also sell while flying, this couples with the 'go exploring' thing. The rebel fleet doesn't jump, they take the same time to get across each system.
Is that a sign of a bad player? How did you know that's all I had?
Nah, it's just an easy camp to fall into. If at about halfway through you find yourself with one type of weapon, try and sell one to get a different one. Like a firebeam.
Also, if someone boards your ship, open up the doors to create a vacuum into space and they'll die. It pays off to upgrade your ship's door systems.