To mend simple cracks or holes like these it is only necessary to bend up
bits of tin or sheet iron (Fig. 300) and drive the metal shingle up
underneath the shingle above the hole so that the "weather" part of the
tin covers the leak, or drive it under the leaking shingle itself, or
drive a new shingle up under or over the damaged one. Where there is a bad
place in the roof it may be necessary to make a patch of a number of
shingles like the one shown in the right-hand corner of Fig. 295½, but
even then it is not necessary to remove the old shingles unless the hole
is very large.
These patches of old tin or new shingles do not look handsome on an old
roof, but they serve their purpose in keeping out the rain and snow and
preventing moisture from rotting the timbers. The weather will soon tone
down the color of the new shingles so that they will not be noticeable and
you will have the satisfaction of having a dry roof over your head. There
is only one thing worse than a leaky roof and that is a leaky boat.