Stay Afloat Leak Plug and Sealant

Photographs and video by the author

Stay-Afloat is a soft, sticky, wax-like material made of treated petroleum byproducts.

"A leaky boat never sinks,” or at least that is what my father led me to believe when he kept a 27′ carvel-planked sloop at my hometown’s marina. If you know a boat’s likely to take on a bit of water, you’re going to keep an eye on it and be prepared to do something about the leaks. If you’ve been lulled into complacency by a boat that doesn’t leak, a little unexpected trickle of water could lead to a sinking. A small boat kept on a trailer isn’t going to sink while it’s idle, but leaks can occur when it’s in use, so it’s a good idea to be prepared to fix them.Stay Afloat is soft, sticky wax-like material meant to fix small leaks of the sort I get with my older lapstrake boats. None of my boats had suffered enough damage to let water aboard, but that’s a possibility worth preparing for.