Things You'll Need:
- Pine Pitch
- Duct Tape
- Fiberglass Resin And Hardener
- Scissors
- Sharp Knife
- Paper Cup
- Scissors
- Sharp Knife
- Fiberglass Cloth
- Fiberglass Cloth
- Wood Strips
- Duct Tape
- Small Stick
- 100-, 220- and 400-grit sandpaper
-
Step 1
Locate the hole. If it isn't obvious, dry off the canoe bottom, put water in the canoe and watch to see where the water escapes.
-
Step 2
Small holes can be temporarily patched with duct tape. For the best adhesion, make sure the repair area and the tape are warm.
-
Step 3
For a leaky seam, try a favorite old-timer's trick: Using a small stick, apply pine pitch along the leak. Pine pitch, the sticky gum found on pine trees, is extremely durable and waterproof.
-
Step 1
Dry the canoe thoroughly.
-
Step 2
Remove any dents around the damaged area if possible. Dents in plastic or aluminum canoes are sometimes pushed out from the inside.
-
Step 3
Using a pair of scissors, cut a piece of fiberglass cloth slightly larger than the repair area.
-
Step 4
Mix fiberglass resin and hardener in a paper cup according to the manufacturer's directions. Stir well with a wood strip such as an ice-pop stick.
-
Step 5
Coat the repair area with the resin mixture. Place the fiberglass cloth over the repair area. Saturate the cloth with the mixture. Smooth the cloth with a wood strip to remove any air bubbles caught underneath it.
-
Step 6
Watch for the resin mixture to become firm. Be prepared to trim any excess cloth or mixture with a sharp knife before the repair is fully hardened.
-
Step 7
Smooth the repair with sandpaper once the mixture has hardened completely. Start with 100-grit paper to remove the roughest sections, then use 220-grit and finally finish with 400-grit.
