Took delivery of a new Romany Kayak in 2008 only to find a
leaky rear compartment – perhaps a cup or two of water would get in over the
course of a several hour paddle. Like many small leaks, the origin was a
mystery until I filled the rear hatch with water and moved the boat around – a small
stream of water was trickling out of one of the deck fittings! NDK makes boats with their own fittings and
sometimes with the Valley Canoe Products deck fittings – mine had the NDK kind,
which are covered below with a liberal amount of fiberglass and resin. So there
was no visible cracks or openings above or below the fitting that I could see –
so the reason for the leak was a complete mystery. Speaking to my buddy Ira at Atlantic Kayak
Tours, he mentioned a product known as "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure". Before drilling out the fitting or doing a
messy epoxy/gel-coat job, I thought I’d give this a try.
The stuff comes in a small bottle and has the consistency and
appearance of skim milk – very watery. I
put maybe 5 or 6 drops of this stuff around the outside edge of the fitting –
no more. To be honest, I had nearly zero expectations that this would work –
but miraculously it did! The liquid’s
watery consistency flows easily into the cracks and seals them up. Now 5 years later I can report that the hatch is still water tight and bone dry. Far and away the easiest kayak repair I've ever done.
Of course any visible crack or hole in the kayak requires
fiberglass/resin and a bigger job. But if you have a tiny, mysterious leak – I
would try Captain Tolley’s first.
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| Oh No! Leak Identified at the Deck Fitting! |
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| No apparent holes/cracks - a brand new boat |
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| Captain Tolley's - THIS is the stuff |
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