The inflatable kayak we carry on board gave up the ghost recently even though it had very little use. The problem was that the glue on some of the vital inflatable sections was of very poor quality. So at an initial cost of $1,200 we were reluctant to relegate it to the rubbish dump and looked at possible ways we could give it a new life - with few tools, no car and no workshop. Finally we ending up filling the keel with expanding foam and replacing the floor with a piece of plywood. We had to buy a full sheet (8' x 4') and then had to transport the plywood from the hardware store back to Monkey Fist's foredeck. We had no car and no delivery address and so the bicycle came in handy once again. I had the store cut the board in half lengthways and it ended up 2' x 8 ' (0.6 m x 2.4 m) then attached the rear end of the sheet onto our shopping trolley and the other end on to my bike's seat post. It worked a treat and rode the 7 kms back the dingy dock without a hitch. I suppose it turned a few heads but with many of the homeless often have large trailers on the back of their bikes, so I fitted right in. Only one person showed any interest when I was preparing the load - a young homeless guy came up to me and said " Do you need a hand brother? it looks like you are struggling."

Bottom line - kayak fixed for under $40 and.... don't buy a BIC Inflatable Kayak.