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How To...
Be Prepared: Boat Repair Kits for Kayakers
by Dana Dickson
If you go on enough kayaking trips, the day will come when you need to repair something on your boat or on a critical accessory in order to continue the trip.
Some of what you will need to make repairs may be items you normally carry with you. Other repair items may be more specialized. Some strong cord, a multi-tool, and some plastic bags are likely to be found somewhere in your paddling gear and adapted for mid-trip repairs. Other items -- fiberglass for hull repair, epoxy kits and spare rudder cables -- can be purchased specifically for a repair kit.
The size of your paddling group and where you are paddling may influence the items you carry in your repair kit. For a day paddle close to home, you may need nothing more than a spare paddle and a roll of duct tape. For a wilderness expedition you should have replacements for critical parts and materials for making hull repairs.
Dale Hedtke, the owner of the Boat-House in St. Paul, has put together some
of the items necessary for field repair of composite kayaks. The Kayak
Repair Kit-Deluxekit has MAS Rapid cure epoxy, gloves, mixing pots, Gel Coat
Scratch Patch with spreader, 3M 5200 sealant, a large roll of boat tape (super
duct tape), 3 ft. of 4 inch fiberglass tape, 4 ft. of 1 inch webbing, a 1
inch double slide fastener, a bungee cord hook, 10 ft. of 3/16 inch accessory
cord, 3 brushes, sandpaper, a strap eye with fasteners, and 2 D-rings.
The epoxy resin and fiberglass tape can be used to repair cracks in a boat hull that cannot be patched with duct tape. If you need to thicken your epoxy, flour or pancake mix can be substituted for wood dust filler. The 3M 5200 Sealant can be used to seal a leaking seam or to glue an accessory back in place. The webbing, buckle and 3/16 line can be used to repair damaged hatch straps or a broken deck line.
A 48 oz. Nalgene bottle makes an excellent watertight container for the repair kit. The kit from the Boat-House needs to be supplemented with some other items. The boat tape is wrapped around the exterior of the container, a location that makes it readily accessible for quick repairs. My essential replacement items include a spare cork for my electric bilge pump and a spare paddle. A set of replacement rudder cables and split bolts or other means to install the cables should also be part of a repair kit for those of us with rudders. If your boat has small diameter line on the skeg control you should carry some replacement line. If there are nuts and bolts that would make the rudder or a foot brace unusable, replacement parts should be carried for these as well.
In addition to the sandpaper and brushes in the repair kit you should also
carry a multi-tool or maybe even two multi-tools. If you need to hold a bolt
while you turn the nut you will need more than one multi-tool. A small
locking plier, A 5 or 6 inch Vicegrip is a good investment for a kayak repair
kit. Vicegrips can be used as pliers, as a wrench, as a wire cutter or as a
vice. A Swiss Army knife that you may carry in your regular camping gear can
also supplement the tools in a repair kit.
The purpose of a field kayak repair kit is not to make a perfect invisible repair to your equipment; rather, it is to make a good enough repair to get you home safely. With the repair items in the Kayak Repair kit, the items you would normally carry on a kayak camping trip and a little creativity, you can repair most any damage well enough to finish your trip (or get you home). Then again, if all else fails maybe you should bring a GPS and a satellite telephone to call for help.
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