This particular post is to focus a little bit of attention on one of the amazing paddlers / people I have come across, whom I have the privilege of calling friend. The man is as modest as his story is impressive, I know he will feel uneasy at the notion of being singled out as being considered more special or different than anyone else.

The man himself aka Mark Lyons will be a familiar face to those in the Scottish / UK boating scene who have been around for any reasonable length of time, its possible easier to list the big international destinations that he hasn’t traveled to that where he has been. But Central Europe, Norway, British Colombia, Nepal are just a scratching the surface of his boating experience. I think for me to even label Mark as a “Kayaker” is selling him short a little as he is also a very accomplished Mountaineer , Climber , Mountain Biker and Scuba Diver, to name but a few.

I could add international ladies man to that list of thing but I’m not sure i could get away posting those photographs online Anyway I should really get to the point of this long overdue blog post before I give Mark an even bigger ego if I continue on like this. Last year Mark was asked by a friend to take in the Edinburgh half marathon for charity, not being a runner but always a man to like a challenge / doing something for charity he was all in for taking part. True to form Mark couldn’t just leave it at that.

In February I bought a pair of running shoes and embarked on a mission to run a 1/2 marathon in April , then I set a goal of a marathon in September and achieved this in Amsterdam with Darren Murphy , but instead of taking the foot off the gas like most sensible people would do , I upped the ante’ and embarked on a new far greater challenge , to complete “The Marathon Des Sable” , a multi stage race over 6 days ,racing 156 miles across the Sahara Desert , often called “The toughest foot race in the world”

For those who have never heard of the Marathon Des Sable it doesn’t get it title of “The toughest foot race in the World” for nothing, it is essentially SIX…. that’s right count them, six marathons over six days across the Sahara Desert. This kinda of ultra ultrathon running is the kind of event life long distant runners take two plus years to prepare for, so what chance does a guy does a guy from the Scottish Borders who only took up running 12 months ago have of surviving this kind of challenge? I don’t think there is a single tangible quality you can name that but I reckon grit, courage, determent, crazy would be a fair start.

As if taking on the Marathon Des Sables wasn’t task of huge enormity its self Mark has also signed for the Sand Baggers Scottish Ultra race and the Gobi Challenge, in the ultra running community these are renowned as three of the toughest races in the world, all three of which Mark will complete within a few months of each other.

In the last year Mark has been quiet open about his personal life being a bit hectic combined with how tough it has been for his business all while trying to prepare for his upcoming challenges. Not being one to back hide away in a corner Mark has started a  has started a website to document his journeys for himself and his friends to keep track of his progress.

If you read back from some of the previous posts they give you some idea of the all the training and effort Mark has put into getting to the point where he is now, all set to head to the Sahara in less than seven days to take his place at the Marathon Des Sables start line. True to form Mark added a charity element to all of these challenges, he is trying to raise both awareness and funds for MS Scotland.

Recent events had brought me awareness of the MS Society of Scotland and its borders branch , I learnt that multiple sclerosis is a disease that affects a lot of people and the support they and their family needs is huge , the charity and its members work tirelessly and I really wanted to help , so my new challenge was born , I would attempt not only to race across the Sahara and Scotland  but I would also run in the Gobi Ultrathon , 140+_ miles across the Gobi desert , through Ice gorges , mountain passes , desert and salt plains … so that was it , an Ultra hat trick , 3 of the toughest races in the world , ran in 3 months , anUltra Ultra challenge was born … and hopefully in turn my efforts will make people aware of MS Scotland , its tireless members and help raise awareness of its cause.

It is possible to donate to this cause via Marks “My Charity” page which is embedded right in Mark’s www.runner786.com website using PayPal, credit or debit card. Any amount you might be able to spare is welcome no matter how large or small. Even if you are not in a position to donate please have a look around the website read some of the great stories about how Mark ended up where he is now including some fairly frank stories of marks own past.

Once Mark sets off on the Marathon Des Sables all going well his blog should be updated daily with progress reports. Anyway cheers for reading this check it out, drop a few comment if you like or even hit Mark up on Twitter @runner786

www.runner786.com

Adrian

So there it is the year of 2010 all done and dusted apart from a few remaining hours. I had thought about and soon after reconsidered writing one of those how awesome things have been kinda end of year posts including how brilliant business has been for me here at www.adrianshanahan.com. At this stage everyone apart from those whom have their heads buried very deep in the sand know that Ireland’s economy is a state of free fall and our government is in such a state of disarray that politicians are jumping ship at a rate of knots.

In addition to that when I see so many of my former colleagues from the construction industry that are now unemployed and looking to leave or have left the country. You could easily forgive anyone who lives here for going around in a permanent state of disillusion / totally depressed with how things seem to be panning out.

I’m sure most of the kayaking community will be in agreement when I say that 2010 has also been one of the worse years for White Water Kayaking in Ireland in memory with no real constant water of any sort over the space of twelve months.

All that aside anyone who know me well will testify that I’m not one to sit around too long feeling sorry for myself and am for the most part the kinda person that sees in the good in things, it’s with that in mind why I decided to share some photos and thoughts from my year. Some stuff kayaking related, other stuff not, but all of it things I’m grateful to have experienced.

In semi chronological order….

In Jan of 2010 Ireland had what was the first epic snow fall in many years so to make the most of it myself and some friends hiked up to what is Ireland’s highest road in the middle of the Wicklow Mountains and set up camp in –25 .

I have to mention the river Nore as with this years poor water levels the Nore seemed to be like that girl friend you always wish you had back in school… as in the one who always put out. A poor joke I know but hey!  There were high days, low days, trips with both clients and friends old and new.

And even a tiny clip of Chris nailing his first clean spin:

As the year went on and the water dried up I with the help of my mate Paul started to dip my toes back into the world of climbing again. I used to climb (very badly I might add) some years ago but took a fall and decked out from 12m which I never quiet got over. I’ve not conquered “the fear” but I now remember why I used to really enjoy it.

Not at all kayaking or outdoor related but 2010 is the year when my sister gave birth and I became an uncle for the first time along with being honored with being asked to be God father. My nephew Tommy Long on his Christening.

As I have said 2010 was mega dry with very few quality days on the water so to spare me from climbing the walls and going nuts I decided to follow what every Kayaker seems to do at some stage in their career and try my hand at mountain biking. This without doubt is one of the best things I’ve ever done, biking is the only outdoor sport out of the many I have tried over the years that gives me the same enjoyment as kayaking.

I am very lucky to have some friends who are pretty hands on two wheels so started of with some great advice and guidance, I honestly love MTB so much I could write many more posts on it alone as there have been so many good times in such a short period.

If you haven’t it yet your missing out, get out there and get Mountain Biking.

I didn’t get to do this near enough this year but I did realize how much I like spending time with my Dad just having the chats end enjoying Pints in local not far from where my Dad grew up.

As always there were one or two days where pasta solo was the best way to enjoy a day on the river, not for everyone but I enjoy it at times.

Another exciting thing that I was excited about was the birth of Track and Trail, its a new venture by a friend that sets out ” to bringing outdoor adventure sports to people all over Ireland, we aim to encourage an appreciation of the outdoors, through various activities in a safe, enjoyable environment, whilst educationally fostering a positive attitude toward an active lifestyle in the outdoors as a lifelong endeavor.”

Honestly they are savage so check them out on www.trackandtrail.ie

This year I have done more than average amount of freelance of contract work in the outdoor education much like years ago when I was just starting out at all this carry on. On one hand it was a pain with all the travel but it really reminded me of how excited people get when trying stuff out for the first time that some of us take for granted.

During the year I also got to spend a bit more time with the Kayak Club based where I am from in Kilkenny which was formed a bit after I had started boating myself. Along with getting out freestyle paddling with some of the younger guys I was also luck enough to organize and run A River Safety & Rescue course for the member of Kilkenny Aqua Canoe club which I hope to see continue into the world of White Water and freestyle.

Most people reading this will not know that I am a proud Irish man and despite being utterly useless at it I do love the Irish language and all that comes with it. So Some time around October following a Twitter conversation with a friend Sharon Ní Icí ( @sherqui ) out of no where we founded an Irish Language website called Cailín Deas, things have been quiet on it as of late but there are great things planned.

This is a day I’ll not forget in a long while but the story is some else to tell or a at least to be told in person where it can be sound far more dramatic than it is.

As 2010 started to come to a close the cold weather struck our small Island again and we got hit with mega snow again in a twelve month period, not being one to stay trapped indoors I hit up my wee gear store and brought the toys out to play.

I even was foolish enough to brave some of the worse driving conditions I have ever seen to make it back to Dublin and took some video of it.

That more or less brings us up to Christmas were for me was pretty sedate with time spent with family and friends oh and not to forget the Kilkenny Santa Charity run.

So there we have it that was a snap shot of my 2010, what strange for me is the more I typed the more I remembered that I have forgotten to include, but I suppose it’s good to keep some stuff unshared. I was trying to think of some sort of really deep and meaningful way of wrapping up the the above and the year in general but failed miserably! What I will say on my own experience of the year gone is that life is what you make of it, get up and do something or like wise sit there and do nothing… Its your life and up to you make what you want of it.

I’m optimistic of what 2011 will bring for not only my self but for those around me and Ireland as a country, we are a resilient lot and things will get better.

If TV has thought us anything its that this time of year is a time for numbers/ countdowns and lists, so here is a few that come to mind and are relevant to me.

1507 – The number of words in this blog posts, well done for getting this far

~96 – The amount of days Kayaking I got this year

0 – The number of swims I had this year , unlike the shit show of 2009

1 – Number of dislocate shoulder incidents sorted

37,665 – Pages views adrianshanahan.com has gotten from Jan first to Dec 31 ( page clicks into 6+ figures)

3 – Number of days cheeky solo river boating I’ve had

0 – Is the amount of new rivers I have paddled in 2010, not great I know but not every year can be classic

Infinite is the number of time I have high fived people this year and also how much I am looking forward to 2011

I hope whomever has read this far had a good year ad that the following one is even better, thanks for reading my ramblings and if even a fraction of the stuff I have ideas for in 2011 there will be some exciting times ahead for both me and my wee website here.

Bliain nua,

Adrian

]]> http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/12/2010-this-time-its-personal/feed/ 5 http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/12/big-dogs-in-land-of-the-rising-sun/ http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/12/big-dogs-in-land-of-the-rising-sun/#comments Sun, 05 Dec 2010 15:56:16 +0000 Adrian Shanahan http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/12/big-dogs-in-land-of-the-rising-sun/ This weekend over in the UK at the Gene17 Adventure Paddler’s Weekend there we al sorts of talks and things planned to entertain those in attendance. A friend of mine James Flemming was invited along to give a wee chat and show a film documenting his, Ian’s and Giles’s to Japan during the Summer of 2010.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with James and the lads, for the last few years the guys have made nice wee films documenting their summer travels from Norway, Italy , Central Europe and next year to include Kenya. The Norway film is one I still enjoy watching every now and then.

James is also one of the key figures in making the Ettive River Race happen every year and the man behind planetpaddler.com.

The film had been kept under wraps  apart from a preview to a small bunch of folks in Sterling Canoes in Scotland until its showing in Dartmoor, I was extremely lucky enough and honoured that James let me see the finished production about a month ago. As with all the previous films I really enjoyed this one as its a nice mix of footage with nothing generic with a good soundtrack throughout.

See if you can catch my two favourite parts of the film, the body language of Ian at 14.28 and the entry to the Fukiwaire (9.02)

Cheers again to James, Ian and Giles for sharing their travels with us and best of luck to them in their preparations for Kenya. I’m looking forward to hooking up with the lads in Scotland very soon.

You can check out more of the guys stuff on James website HERE.

Adrian

Galway Kayak Club in association with Forge Motion Pictures are proud to announce that we will be hosting the European Premiere of their new film Wildwater at the Eye Cinema, Galway on December 2nd 2010.

Director Anson Fogel will be present on the night to present his latest work to a European audience for the first time. We are inviting the submission of local paddle & watersport movies from around Ireland and the best submissions will feature on the night!

Tickets for the 7pm event will cost €15/€12.50 and are available online now, advance booking is advised!
The film its self looks fantastic which includes not only fantastic boating action but also makes use of some tools and techniques that are normally only seen in Hollywood.

The film’s own hype describes it as:

WildWater is a journey into the mind and soul of whitewater, into the places only river runners can go, places of discovery, solitude and risk. Its a visually stunning feast for the senses, and an expedition into new ideas. We set out to create a new kind of adventure film. One where image, sound and ideas trump all else. We wanted to communicate the essence of the thing we love – wildness and whitewater – and put its soul on film. A tall order. After thousands of hours of effort in around the world and in our studio, we are now editing the full version of a film we call WildWater, and we have achieved much of the goal. Borrowing Hollywood film tools and techniques, including RED digital cinema cameras and high speed film, WildWater brings not only new perspectives, but new images to kayaking and the world of adventure cinema.

As if getting to see this new kayaking movie on the big screen isn’t insentience enough to want to head across the to Galway they are also screening submissions for local paddling & watersport films to accompany the European Premiere of Wildwater at the Eye Cinema, Galway. I know there are loads of budding film makers out there and this is your chance to make it onto the big screen.

All of the details you could want to know about the event are available on the events rather sharp website HERE.

I know the event being on a Thursday is not ideal for those of us who are based on the east coast but with the new motorway the journey across from Dublin is far far from an epic drive. I would even suggest that for those that can to try take an early weekend and get to sample some of the white water action that can be found out west.

I know I am going to try get across if at all possible, look forward to seeing you there.

Adrian

So there I was in i-canoe picking up some extra throw bags for clients to use on courses, I already have a load but like the idea of being able to have a good variety for people to use as it give them to make their own mind up on what features / bag size etc is best for them to invest in themselves.

I was just having a browse through the other stock of throw bags in stock and caught sight of the NRS Guardian Waist Throw Bag. To explain until earlier on in the gear I opted to use a Salamander Golden Retriever as my waist bag of choice backed up with a bigger HF bag in my boat. Some how I managed to misplace my Salamander bag along the line so had being making do with a few different solutions from the Palm to the HF Swifty Rescue belt most recently. I just wasn’t feeling the love for anything I had tried so was about to invest in another Golden Retriever but after having a bit of a look and play with the NRS offering I decided to give it a punt and see how it worked out.

On first impression the bag is neat, tidy and well made and the “feel” of a quality bit of kit. The bag consists of a waist mounted belt / sheath which has a Velcro & zip closure to reveal the inner removable bag.

The part of the set up you actually throw feels really compact without ever coming across as too small or flimsy, and I can confirm after using it myself all day on a River Safety Rescue course that it flies straight and true really easy which is something allot of today’s bigger bags can suffer with. I know the diameter of the rope at 6.4 mm will seem thin to allot of people but for me and the fact I only use this as a just in-case bag fits my needs perfect.

One of the things I really liked was that once you put it on you totally forgot your wearing it as it never once feels bulky or gets in the way between your lower back and the boat, sadly the same cannot be said for the Palm and HF offerings along the same lines.

The set up comes with a couple of little features the although small I really liked. The bag all thought compact is super easy / quick to reload and what’s better you can take it out and replace it in the waist belt without having to remove it belt itself with no faff at all.

The belt also have some handy karabiner attachment points a feature which HF also provide, I was skeptical about these at first but now I am coming around to the thinking that they can be really useful. The other thing which I was really pleased about and I know my mates will get a laugh out of this is how over size the length of the belt is, I’m thinking this down to NRS main market is to the USA and there large frames. I always disliked that the HF belt was rather a “snug fit” when you are wearing thermals / dry suit/ spray skirt combo, the NRS belt can be make go pretty much huge as you like. I would say once you find an ideal fit for yourself use a hot knife to trim off the excess.

The blurb from NRS is pretty simple:

The Guardian Bags are worn on your waist, so whether you’re in your boat or scouting a rapid, the throw bag is always at your fingertips.

• Features an internal throw rope in a bag that pulls completely free from the waist belt.
• Throw bag contains 55 feet of 1/4″ polypropylene rope, with a maximum tensile strength of 950 pounds.
• The Guardian clips securely around your waist with an adjustable belt with quick release buckle.
• Webbing loops along the belt are provided for carabiners.

Rope knots reduce tensile strength. For this reason, we make no claims regarding a rescue bag’s strength. Maximum load indicated is for the rope alone.

The folks in Kilkenny Aqua Canoe Club are no different and looking forward to getting out on the water as much as possible. The club has been in existence for about ten years  now and has taken part in all aspects of paddle sport with notable success in Kayak Polo. In recent times the clubs juniors have taken to freestyle kayaking and acquitting themselves extremely well at the 2010 Sluice rodeo and have a growing interest in white-water paddling. From chatting to Roger McClure club chairman we thought it might be a good idea to run an RSR course for club members to help equip them with some skills and techniques to make their time in and around the water safer.

The club had never done any of this kind of stuff before but the fantastic thing about the RSR syllabus is that it can be very easily targeted to suits the groups experience and needs. I was delighted that on the Sunday morning myself and other local instructor Aidan Doran showed up to run the course we were not only greeted by some fantastic winter sun but also by some very enthusiastic participants.

As the day went by we introduced the guys to all sort of principles which lay the foundations for a safe and systematic approach to rescue which can be applied to any incident or potential situation.  As with all RSR courses there is a certain amount of bank based learning to be done before we start to get down to the playing in the water.

During our throw bag workshop I got a chance to test out all of new throw bags I purchased for clients to use and try out on these courses, some were fantastic others just OK and one in particular is only fit for the scrap heap. As a course provider its always a little nerve wrecking on that first demo throw to make sure you nail it but a humbling remainder that without exception we all need to practice to keep those skills sharp for when we need them in a real life situation.

I have to say well done to every one who took part for getting stuck in for all the in water drills, as you can imagine in October the water wasn’t exactly tepid and the guys were not as lucky as me to be wearing a Kokatat Drysuit.

In all it was a great day to be a part of and reminds me of how much I enjoy running theses courses and how flexible and adaptable the RSR syllabus is. I look forward to getting out on the water with KIlkenny Aqua Canoe Club over the coming winter months helping the members progress as much as I can.

For anyone interested in doing an RSR course as an individual or for your club / group of friends make your way over the the Coaching and Instruction part of my website or contact me for details.

Adrian

]]> http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/10/river-safety-rescue-1/feed/ 0 http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/01/right-tools-for-the-job/ http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/01/right-tools-for-the-job/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:12:20 +0000 Adrian Shanahan http://adrianshanahan.com/wordpress/?p=648 Hey all,

I’ve been rather lazy on the blogging front over the last while up until I saw this thread over on the UK boating site UKRGB. It starts of pretty simple looking to identify a type Prussik knot and as all online forums seem to splits into a couple of different directions with all sorts of information / miss information popping up.

There were a couple of things which I found interesting. Firstly it confirmed to me that boaters and ropes / rope work are strange bedfellows. There seems to be an assumption in the wider paddling community that if someone can paddle ( X ) grade river they are automatically totally up to speed with the rope stuff.

Secondly and the thing that struck my interest is that kayakers seem to have an aversion against using out of the ordinary such as “mechanical devices” or tools which might make things easier.

I have constantly heard people preach the K.I.S.S . principal but I wonder have some of these folks closed their minds to their own detriment, are we missing out on using the right tools for the job?

I thought I would share a bit of kit I have been using for a few years now and I honestly think its a savage tool that can complement almost any WW kayakers tool kit.

Its called a Robot and manufactured by an Italian company called Kong.

“KONG ROBOT DESCENDER: A versatile piece of gear in the vertical world. Some of its many uses include a belay device, rappel device, ascender, in place of a pulley in a z-drag system and the list goes on. It can accommodate ropes between 5-13mm in diameter in a single or double configuration. It even works great with ropes of different diameters”

These are usually used by mountain guides and cliff rescue teams in the Alpine regions but due to the fact it is so versatile it has quickly become an invaluable part of my paddling kit .

The specs stack up like this:

Material: aluminium alloy

Weight: 158 g

Dimensions: 52 x 148 mm

Max Load: 22 kN

Rope diameter: 5-13 mm

It weights in about the same weight as a standard steel crab or about twice the weight as an alloy carabineer. Size wise its not much bigger than a large paddling wire gate crab and fits nicely into the pocket of my PFD.

So now we know that its nice and compact just what kind of practical applications does it have to us in a white water environment?

Kayakers seem to be obsessed with Z-Drags and all sorts of mechanical advantage set ups and this little tool makes those easy set up and extremely effective in their operation. The device works as both an auto locking calming pulley all in one.

Once you are set up like this you can operate it just as an auto locking 1:1 system or using a prussik and another crab and have an auto locking 2:1 system.

The use of the Robot for this kind of set up just makes it very easy especially when there are only a small number in your group as the auto locking function allows you to take breaks during each pull without loosing tension. It can be set up to use just as a “pulley” to reduce friction without engaging the auto locking if you so wish. For the demo there I didn’t add a pulley on the prussik end just to keep it gear light.

I would carry the Robot for that function alone but another great thing it does is works as a rappelling device, so if you ever have to portage a cliff or lower yourself down to a get your sorted there to.

All you have to do is make a sit harness with your sling / tape and your away, I also make use of the Spectra belay loop that comes on Astral WW PFD’s to make things even safer.

That’s just one way of using it as an abseil device there are a few more combinations depending on what dia of ropes you are using etc.

One of the great things is just how well it handles double ropes so that you can lower down a drop on a looped rope. You can even use ropes of different dia without any issues.

With the addition of a sling the Robot can also be used as an ascender in much the same way as you would set it for a 2:1 z-drag.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg as to what this device is capable of and with a little bit of learning and practice you will no doubt find endless more applications for it.

So the Robot covers a tasks that you would normally have to use a hand full of others.

In summing up I would say that we as white water paddlers should open our minds to learning and understanding new & possible more efficient ways of doing things rather than just accepting everything that is said to be “best practice” and taking it as gospel.

Needless to say I’m only covering some of the uses of Kong Robot, no amount of reading stuff of the net will make up of hands on experience or being showing by a quality / experienced coach. If you have any questions or comments on what you might like me to cover in the future fire away.

Adrian

How to double pump 101 from Adrian Shanahan on Vimeo.

Hi,

A few days back on of the guys from the UKRGB Bren (aka Peakfreak) posted up that there are no videos online that just explain the “double pump” and any that try assume too much previous knowledge from the person looking to learn.

I had being thinking of doing up a few wee how to tutorials but was being a bit lazy about it, I took this as a bit of motivation. I hit a part of the local river two cameras and tripod in hand. Sadly after I had uploaded the footage to my laptop I some lost it all , a fecking disaster so I flew back down to the river with my younger brother Keith “shaky hands” Shanahan and managed to get only 6mins of raw footage before the battery died. I managed to salvage this after all that.

This has kinda inspired me to put a bit of effort in and knock out a few more hoping to improve on the quality.

Stay tuned……

Adrian

This is one of those things that always seems to crop up either after the annual pilgrimage to the Alps or after a big dump of rain after a long dry spell. Contrary to what allot of folks seem to thing these days kayaks are large designed to paddle down rivers avoiding rocks and obstacles as opposed to being rock ramming machines. So its not too uncommon after head on collision with a rock to get a bent nose or a split in your boat.

Thankfully its not the end of the world as in most cases a boat can be repaired, depending on where/ how the kayak is damaged you can get it back to to being pretty close to being full strength again.

This example that I did is of a weld that had been done before that split again, I won’t mention the previous welder but it was his first attempt . In fairness I was there the day it split again and it was a fairly solid thump. So here is a very basic “how to weld your boat”

Here is what I use.

If you click on the photo above you will see a the secret weapon of the whole operation, the modified blow torch. I saw this first used a good few years back and reckon its the best bit of kit for the job.

Patent pending on this bit of custom kit

You will notice the spoon, the idea of that is to prevent the naked flame coming into contact with the plastic which cause carbonation & in turn significantly weakening the plastic.

Step one:

Use your craft knife to clean the split and to make a nice smooth surface to begin your weld on. Be careful not to go nuts here and take way too much plastic away & making the gap massive.

Of course if you are the proud owner of an NRS Wingman that also works a treat.

I then use my drill to bore a hole at either end of the split, 6mm ish bit pending on how wide your split is.

Step two:

Now we need to borrow a strip of plastic from elsewhere in the boat to help fill the gap. I always reckon some where around the side of the cockpit rip works well. Be sure that where ever you take it from is not some where you will catch your hand / dry suit when getting in and out of your boat.

Step three:

Now depending on the type of split I have often placed a small block of timber inside the boat and screwed into it from either side of the crack to strengthen the repair. I didn’t think that was necessary this time but it does work very well.

So now is time to heat up the whole front of the boat around the area that is being worked on, the heat gun does a good job of this. the plastic should start to soften up around 130 deg C if your want to be super anal about it but its fairly easy spot when the plastic starts to look “glazed”.

Step four:

Now this is where the interesting stuff starts to happen, now a word of warning don’t put your hand on the boat to see how how it feels! You will burn your self and it kinda hurts. So get the strip of plastic you cut out earlier and hold it in the your pliers and heat it up so its hot but not melting.  Now place this strip in your split.

Step five:

Now fire up your blow torch and give it a few seconds for the spoon to heat up. If this is the first time using your torch spoon do expect a few sparks/flames as the torch burns any impurities of the metal. From here on it is all down to feel and touch. Use the back of the spoon to melt the filler strip and the plastic either side of the weld.

The idea here is to bond the whole lot together as opposed to just filling the gap with melted plastic. Slow and stead will win the race here so don’t be afraid to crack out the heat gun to keep the working area warmed up.

I often use a metal chisel to help me work the plastic into the split and to try keep things tidy, it can get a bit “gooie” around the weld but stick with it and don’t be tempted to add too much heat.

Step six:

With any luck you have now managed to fill the split in your boat without melting it into a big blog or setting the plastic on fire. What I do now is use the heat gun again to heat up the whole area again to the “glazed” look and use the back of my chisel to dress the plastic into something that looks nice and tidy. Less is more here. Now we want to leave the now the hot front of your boat to cool down nice and slowly while bonding together. Don’t stress if it doesn’t look perfect just yet we will address that next.

Step seven:

Once the boat is now cool to the touch we can make it look a little prettier, hopefully if you were tidy doing your weld this won’t take a min to do. Use the heat gun again to heat up the repaired area to the point where the plastic is just becoming soft and then using the back side of the chisel to smooth out the area. The thing here is we are just working on the top layer of plastic and not wanting to heat the plastic right through.

It’s hard tell from the photo but this turned out pretty well and I reckon its a solid weld, if you have time and you want you can strip out the whole inside of the boat and try access the weld from the back to repeat the process. In my experience of doing that it’s super hard to work in such a small space without using a pencil blow torch.

Here is how mine looked from the inside.

I reckon that’s just about right and that this boat will go on to live many more days on the river.

In wrapping the whole thing up its probably easier to learn not to smash your boat into rocks that it is to repair it. But if you do damage it don’t panic too much I have seen all sorts of things brought back to life with some time and effort.

Anyway try it at your pearl… and sure as I was told when I first tried it years ago…”Its always better to learn on someone else’s boat”.

Best of luck,

Adrian