What to do if your boat is leaking

Being on the water can pose a host of unexpected dangers. The most common is when your boat suddenly starts leaking and filling with water. The most important rule to follow is to not panic and row to shore as quickly as possible.
Staying in deep water is dangerous, so if there are two people in the boat, one must row while the other bails out the incoming liquid. Such an accident can happen regardless of the material of the boat, whether it's rubber, plastic, wooden, or metal.

How to temporarily patch a hole that suddenly appears

Most often, anglers on the Putorana Plateau trophy fishing trips use lightweight, portable, inflatable boats made of rubber or PVC. These are relatively easy to transport to the water. They can be easily moved to another location if boating is not an option. However, they can be damaged by a poor cast, snagging on a snag, or various objects on the shore, etc. If you're away, rafting, fishing, or traveling, damage to plastic boats can be quite expensive. What can you do yourself?

Rubber boat:

A rubber dinghy will need to be sealed. In some cases, this requires lowering the boat. Ufimkas are the most commonly affected, as they are not very well-built.

• If your boat has a leak, sand the area. Cut a rubber patch and apply it. This won't take long, but you'll need to wait about an hour, preferably longer, for the glue to dry. It's not a good idea to take the boat out right away, as air pressure and stress may force you to repair it again.
• Another option is the following. Wipe the puncture site with gasoline to degrease it, then apply adhesive. If you have Nairit adhesive, that's great. Then, begin rubbing it into the hole using a plate or spatula.

PVC boat:

PVC boats do not require sanding before repair; it's better to treat the bonding surfaces with solvent if possible. If the hole is smaller than 5 cm, you should:

• Use tape to cut out a patch and glue it to the hole. Apply it along the edges to ensure a neater repair. Apply adhesive to both surfaces (the patch and the damaged area of the boat). Wait 15 minutes for the adhesive to dry, especially if using PVC glue. It's best to heat the area to be patched to about 60°C with a hair dryer, then apply the patch to the surface being bonded. After 30 minutes, you can try inflating the boat and inspect the repair.

Nylon, viscose boat:

Nylon or viscose boats cannot be vulcanized, as the holes become even larger than they were.

• A boat like this can be glued together using rubber-based glue. The hole in the boat should also be sanded and treated with gasoline, after which a thin layer of glue can be applied. This process will need to be repeated several times. This method will help bring the boat back to life, at least temporarily, so you can return home.