Fixing a crack in a canoe can be easy and cheap so follow this guide for effective ways of repairing cracks in your kayak or canoe, using nothing more than a drill, cloth tape and a hair dryer.
I was given a kayak but it had six cracks in the hull and would eventually take on lots of water. I had two options: scrap it or repair it. It didn’t cost me anything, so I thought I’d try to repair it.
Is it possible to make a permanent repair using a drill, cloth tape and a hair dryer? Yes – it really does work!
I’ve made a few river trips in my repaired kayak and there are no leaks.
Mark the extent of the crack inside the kayak - We need to know where the crack is, from inside the kayak or canoe. This can be tricky, so use a pin to poke through the hull so you can mark the hole using a marker pen. When you have marked the holes, you will then know where the ends of the crack are.
Heat the tape - At this stage, we have applied a strip of fabric tape to the heated plastic of the kayak. We now need to heat the fabric tape with the hair dryer. This will melt the tape's glue so that we will end up with an excellent bond. Keep the hair dryer over the tape for a minute or two so that the glue gets hot.