why should I trust this man with my boat?

reliability and dedication

That’s a fair question. You spent a lot of time and money researching, purchasing and outfitting your vision of perfection for quality paddling time on the water. Now something unforeseen has happened and your boat is requiring some gentle love to get it safely back on the water. So why trust this stoic bearded man with your pride and joy? I mean look at him, you don’t know whether he’s going to help you with your boat or throw it at you. Two reasons – RELIABILITY, DEDICATION and SKILL. Wait that’s three reasons…ummm… Well, let’s say skill is implied with dedication.

DEDICATION: Jim doesn’t just like to paddle, he lives to paddle. Look at the expression on his face, look at that form, … you know this crazy man lives boats. He’s one of the few people I know who has actually paddled to work. Jim grew up among the summer camps of northern Wisconsin using his outdoor skills with canoe and kayak first in recreation then as a camp counselor, encouraging youth in the quiet sports for many years. He eventually migrated to Madison and became heavily involved in the paddling community through employment at Rutabaga, the world’s largest paddle sports outfitter, sharpening his repair skills on all manner of bad decisions and accidents. Canoes, kayaks, whitewater boats, he’s seen it all.

RELIABILITY: Jim’s the most reliable person I know. Literally. He takes pride in every aspect of his work, from a simple thwart replacement to fixing that large hole when you thought raging down the Brule in a kevlar canoe was a good idea. He’ll put all of the pride, appreciation and joy he has into making your craft not only paddle worthy but looking as close to original as possible. You made a mistake, but don’t worry, Jim is there for your boat, he’ll treat it like an orphaned puppy.

Samples of Jim's work

Featured Projects

Gel Coat Patching
Plastic Welding
Gunwale Replacement

Repair Or Upgrade Pricing Table

Small Repair / Upgrade

Flat Fee
Small repairs or upgrades
  • Seat / Thwart Replacement

  • Skeg cable replacement

  • Rudder system repair / tune up

  • Rigging

Large Repair / Upgrade

$75 per hour
Multi day repairs or upgrades
  • Large holes or cracks

  • Major gel coat repairs

  • Gunwale replacements

  • Kayak interior repairs

Ridiculous Requests

Make An Offer
Have you lost all sense of reality?
  • No

  • Not a chance

  • I've never heard of that

  • Are you out of your mind?