Capt. Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure Saves the Day

After an unseasonably hot spell this spring, the heavens opened and the resulting deluge found its way through the nooks and crannies in the parched teak of my fore-hatch coaming. Thankfully the drips ended up on the cabin sole rather than the bunk.

The cause of the leak was traced to a joint at the corner of the hatch, which had separated very slightly, allowing water to penetrate. I was about to leave Rainbird for a few weeks so I rummaged through the glues and caulking box and pulled out a squeeze bottle with an interesting and humorous label; Capt. Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure.

It’s a thin white liquid, which disappears in the blink of an eye into fine cracks by capillary attraction. It solidifies and the instructions say that you should keep applying it every 30 minutes until no more is absorbed. A final application after a further 24 hours is recommended.

Well, I followed the instructions and the following day doused the area with a hose and was pleased to see that the leak had stopped. That was four months ago and it still hasn’t come back.

I’m not sure I would trust it as a permanent cure. Doing the job properly would involve dissembling the joint and rebuilding it and that’s no small task. For now I will just keep an eye on it.

The 60ml bottle cost me around $12 and this amount will go a very long way. I can see it will be another valuable weapon in the battle against entropy.