: Some day you . . .
: will have paddled too far into unknown territory. As such, you
: will hit the sandy bottom (with one 6" rock) and tear a 12" gash
: in your boat . . . Now capsized,
: your homemade skirt will fail to seal and you'll be in the water. Of
: course that cloned non-USCG approved PFD isn't going to do the job either!

When such a scenario plays out, remember that you are at the beach, and have just hit a 6 inch stone, and at most your boat draws 5 inches. If you can't coast the remaining few feet to shore before sinking to the bottom, don't panic. Just step out of the boat and stand up in what is at most 11 inches of water. Grab the gouged and damaged end with one hand and hold it above the water as you walk to shore. With your free hand you can pull out that 6 inch stone and palce it where no one else can hit it. Once you are on shore, get out the duct tape and put two layers on the damaged area, inside and out. Then enjoy your trip.

What, no duct tape? Find a conifer (thats a tree with needles instead of leaves) and slash it with a knife or hit it with that rock that tore up your boat, breaking through the bark and exposing the light colored wood. Go away for awhile, and when you return you'll find that some sticky, resinous, waterproof sap has oozed out of the damaged area you created. Use a twig to sccop this up and apply it to your damaged hull. It worked for the indians and their birchbark canoes -- it can work for you.

Oh, that hollow shaft paddle that broke? No big problem. Find a convenient sized branch and whittle a 6 to 10 inch long piece to fit inside the hollowed shaft, filling and strengthening it. If you want, you can slit the hollow shaft for a few inches to allow it to expand a bit. A length of wire from your repair kit can be wrapped around the joint and twisted tight, squeezing the paddle shaft against the plug.

What, you forgot to pack the wire, too? Well, just cut a length of your bungee cord and wrap it around the repaied area, stretching it as much as possible so it provides some good clamping action. Cna't decide which piece of bungee to sacrifice? Well, why not use the piece that is holding your spare paddle?

PGJ