Gasket Repair Clinic

Gasket Repair Clinic A blown gasket shouldn't end your season — or cost you weeks of shipping and a repair invoice. Learn to replace and maintain your own drysuit gaskets, hands-on, and leave with a Kokatat repair kit so you can do it again at home. Latex gaskets are consumables. They stretch, crack, and eventually tear — usually the night before a trip. This clinic takes the mystery out of the fix: you'll do real neck and wrist replacements with guidance, learn what makes a seal hold and what makes it fail, and go home equipped to handle the next one yourself. Hands-onWorkshop Kokatat kitIncluded Your suitWelcome All levelsNo prereq What You'll Work On Every technique done by hand, on real suits — yours or ours. Watching a video isn't the same as setting a seal yourself. Neck Gasket Replacement The repair most paddlers pay someone else to do. Removing the old gasket cleanly, prepping the surface, and setting the new seal so it holds. Removing a worn gasket without damaging the suit Surface prep — where most home repairs fail Adhesive application and clamping the new seal Trimming and sizing the gasket to your neck Wrist Gasket Replacement Smaller seal, same principles, faster job. Once you've done one, you'll wonder why you ever shipped a suit away for it. Form selection and gasket positioning Getting a clean, even bond on a small seal Trim rings and sizing for comfort without leaks Cleaning & Maintenance Most gasket failures are preventable. The suits that last a decade are the ones that get five minutes of care after each season. 303 Protectant — what it does and how often to use it Washing, drying, and storing a suit properly Spotting a gasket that's about to fail before it does Proper Seal Setting A gasket that seals but chokes you, or fits comfortably but leaks, is a bad repair. Getting the balance right is the craft. Stretching a new gasket before first wear Trimming in stages — you can always cut more Testing the seal before it matters Every Seat Includes Hands-on practice on real suits — bring your own or work on ours All tools, adhesives, and materials for the session A Kokatat gasket replacement kit to take home — gasket, Aquaseal, sandpaper, 303 Protectant, and instructions Bring your suit. If a gasket on your drysuit needs replacing, bring it — your included kit covers the repair, and you'll do it with a coach beside you instead of a YouTube video. Any brand welcome. Questions Do I need to own a drysuit? No. You can practice every technique on our suits and take your repair kit home for when you need it. If you do own a suit, bring it — even if nothing needs fixing, we'll assess your gaskets and show you what to watch for. My gasket is torn right now — can I fix it at the clinic? Yes. That's the best version of this clinic: a real repair, done properly, with guidance. Your included kit covers the materials. Let us know when you book so we can confirm the kit matches the gasket you need. I don't have a Kokatat suit — is this still useful? Yes. The techniques — surface prep, adhesive work, seal setting, trimming — apply to most latex-gasket drysuits and drytops. Construction details vary by brand and era, and we'll cover what to check before starting a repair on any suit. What's in the take-home kit? A genuine Kokatat gasket replacement kit: replacement gasket, Aquaseal adhesive, sandpaper, 303 Protectant, and instructions — everything for one full replacement at home.