As in all areas of life, Murphy's Law seems to prevail while
canoeing. If something on our is going to break, it will never
happen while we are out on a day paddle, or when we are close to
civilization. Instead, the devious piece of gear will wait until
we are two days and seven portages into a trip, then promptly
fall apart. The likelihood of an item breaking is directly
proportional to the distance we are away from the tools required
to fix it.
That being the case, it is a good idea to bring along a little
container with some odds and ends that will enable us to fix
whatever breaks. A combination of the items listed below and a
bit of ingenuity will keep nearly any piece of equipment
operating.
Ever tempted to leave the kit at home to save a bit of weight?
Don't even think of it! In all of my years of canoeing, I have
only had serious need of my repair kit once. We were paddling
the Spanish River and one of the canoes wrapped on a run through
Cedar Rapids. The canoe, a fiberglass Swift, was a mess. There
were six separate cracks and holes, the portage yoke was torn
off at one end, both aluminum gunwales were snapped, and the
canoe had basically assumed the same shape as a banana. We
dragged the canoe to shore, dried if off, and began major
surgery. A lot of grunting, pounding and leverage got the boat
back into a reasonable canoe shape. Holes were quickly repaired
with duct tape. A couple of wood screws through the gunwale
fastened the portage yoke. The result wasn't pretty, but within
half an hour, we had transformed the canoe from a wreck into a
perfectly serviceable craft. Without the repair kit, two
paddlers would have been hiking out to the train tracks to hitch
a ride back home.
Here's what I carry in my repair kit.
|
|
A
Basic Repair Kit |
| Duct
Tape |
Need we say
more? There is nothing that can't be repaired with a judicious
application of duct tape
|
| Fastener
Container |
I
carry a baby food jar with an assortment of nuts, bolts, screws
and different sized nails. Good for everything from re-nailing
up portage signs to re-attaching that broken portage yoke.
|
| Epoxy
Adhesive |
A tube each of
5 minute set resin and hardener - bonds anything
|
| Snare
Wire |
A
small roll of brass snare wire is great for temporary fastening
of straps, canoe seats, whatever
|
| Needle-Nose
Pliers |
For loosening
or tightening anything
|
| Multi-Tool |
A
great addition - these ingenious devices have everything from
pliers, to screwdrivers to knife blades to files on them.
|
| Flashlight
Stuff |
A spare bulb
and maybe a couple of double A batteries for that flashlight that
dies.
|
| Plastic
Wire Ties |
These
plastic straps used by electricians to bundle wires and cables
are a great addition. They 'loop' together and never come
undone, and they're made of very strong plastic.
|
| Stove
Parts |
If a pump or
generator dies, it's nice to have a spare. Same thing for that
pesky cap for the tank. A stove isn't much good if you can't
pump it up because you dropped the filler cap in the lake.
|
| Vinyl
Patch and Contact Cement |
Try
and scrounge an old piece of swimming pool liner about 12"
square. It can be adhered over a major hole in a canoe with
contact cement. Good for those repairs that are beyond the duct
tape stage.
|
| Fiberglass
Repair Kit |
Not something
I carry on every trip, but if we're doing a route with any
significant amount of whitewater, I bring along a couple of
square feet of fiberglass fabric, a small container each of
epoxy resin and hardener, a paint brush, a small plastic
squeegee, and a pair of vinyl gloves.
|
