Door zippers
One of the most common shanty repairs. Replaced with heavy coil zipper rated for cold — not the light zipper most shacks ship with. If the teeth are worn, a new slider alone will not hold.
What I fix on a shanty
Tears & punctures
Patched from behind and stitched, not taped. Ice augers, tie-downs and truck beds account for most of them.
Seams & stitching
Blown seams restitched with UV- and cold-rated thread. Old shanties usually fail at the thread long before the fabric gives out.
Windows & vinyl
Cracked or clouded window vinyl cut and replaced. Clear vinyl goes brittle in cold and splits along the stitch line.
Hub sleeves & pockets
Blown pole pockets and hub sleeves rebuilt and reinforced. This is where a hub shanty fails first, and it is repairable.
Skid house canvas
The fabric on a skid or wheel house — walls, doors, roll-up windows. Frame and structure is a different trade; see below.
Shacks I work on
- Pop-up and flip-over shacks — Otter, Eskimo, Clam and the rest
- Hub-style shanties, including blown hub sleeves
- Tow-behind and travel covers
- Canvas on skid houses and wheel houses
- Shanty seats and bench cushions — same work as a boat seat
What I do not do: aluminum frame fabrication or structural skid house building. If the frame is bent or you want a house built, that is a different trade and I will tell you so rather than take the job. Everything with fabric on it, I can fix.
Fix it in the off-season
Everyone remembers a torn shanty the same week the lakes lock up. Standard turnaround is 5 business days, or 2 with rush — but the unhurried time to do this is spring and summer, right after you pull it off the ice.
A tear left through a season gets bigger, and a seam that let go once will let go beside the old stitching.
Get a written estimate →Questions
- Does anyone in the Chippewa Valley actually repair ice shanties?
- Yes. Second Season EC in Altoona repairs shanty and fish house canvas — zippers, tears, seams, windows and hub sleeves — on the same industrial machines used for boat covers and marine upholstery. Shanty work runs at the shop rate of $65/hr. Send photos for a written quote, usually the same day.
- Can a broken zipper on a pop-up shanty be replaced?
- Yes, and it is one of the most common shanty repairs. The door zipper is replaced with heavy coil zipper rated for cold, not the light zipper most shacks ship with. A new slider alone will not hold if the teeth are worn.
- What kinds of ice shanty can you work on?
- Anything with fabric on it: pop-up and flip-over shacks, hub-style shanties, tow-behind covers, and the canvas on a skid house. Aluminum frame fabrication and structural skid house work is not something I do — that is a different trade.
- When should I bring in a shanty for repair?
- Spring and summer, right after you pull it off the ice. Standard turnaround is 5 business days, or 2 business days with rush, but everyone remembers a torn shanty the same week the lakes lock up. Off-season is the unhurried time to fix it.
- How much does ice shanty repair cost?
- Shanty work runs at the shop rate of $65/hr. The most common jobs — a door zipper, a torn seam — are quoted from photos rather than priced from a list, because what a repair takes depends on what failed. You get the number in writing before anything starts, so there are no surprises at pickup.
Send me a photo
Tell me what happened and send a few pictures. You will get a written price back — most the same day — before anything is committed to.
Get a free estimate → Call (715) 575-6425Serving Eau Claire, Altoona, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie and the surrounding Chippewa Valley.