By Hunt Dowse

On an early spring practice with high water on your river, you hit a submerged log and once back at the dock, discover that your boat's fin is not there. You are in luck if you have a spare of if you can locate one that is from the same type of boat. Now you have to assess if the hull was damaged in any way beyond losing the fin. Remember that what you want is a temporary fix not a professional repair; that can come later. If there are minor cracks around the fin area, get some good electrical tape (3M Scotch brand type 33+ or 88) from your tool box, dry off the area thoroughly and apply the tape over the cracks. This works everywhere else on the boat for minor cracks, too. Just be sure the area is clean before applying the tape. Use the black electrical tape, overlap the tape 50% if you have a larger crack and never use duct tape because it is not waterproof and it leaves adhesive on the hull.

If you fin is like the great majority used on small boats today, it will fit into a slot in the hull but needs an adhesive to hold it in. The most popular adhesive for this purpose is silicone since it dries to a good bond even on the slippery plastic used in smaller fins. It is available in small tubes as well as the large ones used in a caulking gun. Clean out the slot, sand the edge of the fin that fits into the slot, apply a little silicone to the slot and squeeze it into the slot with a popsicle stick or jackknife. Push the fin into the slot, clean up the excess silicone, and put a band of masking tape over the fin and down to the hull to hold the fin straight while it dries. Get the boat into the sun to aid the drying process. It will be ready to use by the time you are ready for your next race.

If you have a large boat, the fin is fixed by bolts up through the hull, keel, and held by wing nuts with large washers or a plate. If you clean off one of these, you may damage the boat to a point that it cannot be repaired for the next event because of excessive hull damage. You will feel lucky if the fin just snaps the brass bolts as they are designed to do. Then you need to punch the sheared bolts up through the hull, saving the washers for reinstallation. The bolts through the hull will need a gasket of pliable material to keep the water out. The best source is Mortite window caulking, a putty-like material that comes in a rope coil. Break off a 1.5' piece, roll it between your fingers to warm it up, and wrap it around the fin bolts, wider at the fin surface and narrower up on the bolt. Fit the fin by squeezing the fin the last ½" on, do up the wing nuts and clean off the excess putty. Check for leaks and head back to the dock.

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Hunt Dowse, owner of The Shell Repair Center, has been coxing, coaching, sculling and repairing boats for many years. He is a former head coach at Buckingham Browne & Nichols and a steward of the NEIRA.