Badger’s Tip of the Week – Impromptu Kayak/Canoe Repairs

While we hope you don’t ever find yourself having to use these specific tips, we do believe the following information for emergency boat repairs is extremely useful to know…. because, well… you just never know!

Minor impromptu fibreglass/kevlar canoe or kayak repairs can be done while on a trip, even if you didn’t bring a proper repair kit with you. For a minor crack or leak, repair the area by carefully burning/melting some polypropylene rope and then dripping the liquid into the crack. Let cool.

For a larger hole or damaged area, seek out and respectfully harvest some Birch bark and Balsam sap from the surrounding forest.  Use a thin piece of Birch bark as a temporary emergency patch held in place with some gum from a Balsam tree. (If you do not have these specific species available to you, research your local flora and fauna to become familiar with substitute materials for those specified in this week’s tip.)

These are all meant as temporary repairs, of course. We would always recommend repairing your canoe properly as soon as your trip has ended, but in an emergency, these quick fix tips could possibly get you back to civilization with much less worry. And, if you end up getting all that sticky sap on your hands, just grab some rubbing alcohol or on-the-go hand sanitizer from your first aid kit, apply to the sticky area and rub vigorously. The alcohol should dissolve the resin.