Open Forum: pluggin the crack

pluggin the crack

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URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14044
Printed Date: 14 Jan 2026 at 11:25am

Topic: pluggin the crack

Posted By: MN Mike
Subject: pluggin the crack
Date Posted: 15 May 2014 at 12:43am

I’ve finally cracked my first boat. More tragic, it’s a Jackson crosslink so welding is not an option. The crack is about 6” long just right of the pillar and not spread out by lots of oil-canning. My plan is to drill the ends and cover the inside and outside with hippo patches (super sticky like creosote / roofing tape, but with a solid backing that I’ve heard holds up much better).

As a newbie to this, my question is: how big should I drill the holes??? Basic physics would suggest that the larger the hole, the larger the area that the stress of the crack will be spread over, so more stable… but the bigger I make the hole, the more room the crack will have to move causing spreading, oil-canning and subsequent failure… or maybe I’m overanalyzing this and it doesn’t really matter as long as the ends of the crack aren’t sharp...

Anybody have some sage advice on what's worked in the past?

Replies:

Posted By: oukr9965
Date Posted: 15 May 2014 at 7:03am

I'm not sure what size drill bit I use, but it's not too small and not too large. Usually pick one from the middle. I've done this numerous times now and so far each patch has held. Still using both boats and one has almost more gorilla tape than plastic!

I would suggest not bothering with patching the outside of the boat. It's just going to scrape off.

I'll typically remove whatever I need to from inside the boat. Drill the ends of the crack (make sure to go all the way to the end). Put a layer of gorilla tape over the crack. Heat it up with a pen torch, then continue the process by overlapping the layers of tape in opposing directions.

Good luck and remember to check with Jackson first. They have a great warranty policy and customer service.

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-Lanson

Posted By: Jetters
Date Posted: 15 May 2014 at 8:26am

I fixed a crack and its still holding today by doing this: Drill both ends like u were thinking. Then clean the surface inside the boat with a little acetone on a rag. Then I spray a coat of 3m adhesive around the area. Next I take some mesh drywall tape and put a layer over the crack. Next I use WEDI and spread a layer about 1/8" to -1/4" thick with a taping knife. (WEDI is a sealant used for waterproof tile shower systems)The key to this is lets say you have a crack 3" long, you would need to make your patch with the mesh and WEDI at least 4" x 6" so it has enough surface area to stick and flex with the boat. Pretty sure u could glue your a##hole shut with this stuff.I patched a friends boat as well with this system and they actually cracked the boat again in a different spot but the original crack/patch held up.

Posted By: jalmquist
Date Posted: 15 May 2014 at 1:14pm

Drill those end holes bigger than you might think. We're not talking a spade bit, but there's nothing wrong with going 0.25".

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