Sometimes you can end up in shallow waters where you can damage your kayak. Plastic canoes and kayaks particularly can sustain damages fairly easily. Here are some quick fixes for scratches or gouges.
The most common type of damage to kayaks are scratches and gouges in the hull. Kayaks get dragged along shorelines and banged into all kinds of things as they are carried back and forth to the water and stored. Scratches are not a big deal, but if there are thick gouges that make the plastic peel back, then you will need to fix them. Just take a razor blade to trim back the peeled-off parts. If the gouge is super deep, you can drip melted plastic into the gouges to fill them.
It's unusual to get cracks in the top of a kayak, but you can sometimes find holes there due to lost screws or accessories, which can allow water to splash up and get inside the kayak. In most cases, you can simply use duct tape to cover the holes and keep the water out. You'll probably just need to replace it frequently to make sure that it does not come unsealed.
Cracks are the worst type of damage to sustain. If the cracks are in the top of the kayak, there's a chance you could repair it with duct tape as an immediate fix. If the crack is on the bottom of the kayak, however, this can pose a serious danger to you. You don't want to take a kayak out on the water if there is a crack under the seat or the pegs where you keep your feet. That's where the kayak is heaviest and where water is most likely to enter the kayak. Cracks in other places are not as serious, but should still be carefully examined and welded before taking it back out on the water.
You should examine your kayak for overlooked holes and cracks each time you take it out on the water to make sure that it is in good shape so that you don't end up in trouble. Most small issues can be resolved with quick fixes but beware of small holes and cracks growing bigger over time.
