Butyl tape is the boatie’s sacrament. Alongside a tube of Doctor Boat tear-repair gel, it is proof that civilisation really can be held together by slightly sinister adhesive. It looks and feels like white chewing gum stretched along a plastic coating. You press it along any vulnerable seam and it bonds with manic zeal. It can be applied in a gale. It adheres to metal, glass, fibreglass, hair, skin and eyelids. I have yet to discover a method of removing it: butyl tape is a commitment.