fixing a leaky boat...

[gone_fishin]

i just bought a used aluminum boat that has a small leak somewhere on the hull... i knew about the leak prior to buying... anyways, we found a loose rivet up near the front of the boat, and i'm thinking/hoping that is the leak... and hopefully the only leak, lol.

 

any advise on sealing that up??? i don't want to have to rip up the deck if i don't have to... so fixing it from the outside of the hull would be preferred!!!

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited April 2, 2009 by gone_fishin

[duckdog]

I put 5200 on one or two and its bin a full season with no leaks, guess its a temp fix but worked for me

[irishfield]

I put 5200 on one or two and its bin a full season with no leaks, guess its a temp fix but worked for me

 

You mean you didn't use any of those rivets i sent you...

[duckdog]

Lol on the crack yes I used all of them but I put a dab of 5200 on every rivet on the boat while it was upside down and warm

[Joeytier]

[bigugli]

Hi! Billy Mays here....

[irishfield]

LOL... I got some of that epoxy crap for my birthday. Maybe I should try slapping it on as a repair on the next $200,000 floatplane thru the doors and see how it fairs. Better make sure my liability insurance is topped up first...

[gone_fishin]

thanks for the advise guys!!!

 

THANKS!!!

 

 

I'm glad this thread was taken seriously!!!

[irishfield]

Well it was taken seriously... it just got off track.

 

This question has been asked 50 or 60 times here. I'm tired of typing, at least, my answers. Hit search and enter leak.

 

If you're not willing to get the floor out of the way to buck the rivet then then only choice is to drill it out and use a blind "tank" rivet in the hole... or do as duckdog stated smear some 3M5200 over it...or Sikaflex 592.. or Sikaflex 1a. All will need you to scotchbrite the area around the rivet real good and clean with acetone if you expect it to stick for any length of time.

Edited April 5, 2009 by irishfield

[Maverick]

Irishfield, which is better the sikaflex 592 or 1a?

[irishfield]

I have no tested experience with the 591 and 592 marine sealant. You can get it at West Marine and pay $20 dollars or so for a tube. 3M5200 same deal.. small tube at CTC is $20. I buy Sikalfex 1A which is a construction grade concrete expansion joint sealant which just happens to have a high peel strength on aluminum (with lab data to back that) at $7.50 a tube. Hard to find though... I get if from United Rental.. only place I know it's available and you can get it in limestone that blends well with aluminum... just remember you need a good cross hatch with scotchbrite if you expect it to stick well and takes about a week to full cure.

Edited April 3, 2009 by irishfield

[gone_fishin]

what about brazing the leaky spots??? would that be a viable option? i know that would generally be done on the seams and such, but would that work on the loose rivets as well???

[irishfield]

That one would be like spinning a rolette wheel IMHO..... Rivet is probably a derivative of 2024 aluminum which is not weldable. Boat maybe 2024 if real old as well... or could be 5052 which is weldable... but the rivet may very well not be...and then you'll have a real mess on your hands.

 

Other issue is welding aluminum period.. which degrades the "parent" material beside the welds.. but that's a whole nuther arguement that we get into her once or twice a year. Tracker won't even stand behind their hulls I'm seeing/hearing. 4 year old boats with lifetime hull warrantees and cracks thru the hull caused by interior brace welding with the hull crack 1/4" away from the braces (that have broken off even) and they won't honour the hull warrantee because it covers "welded seams".

Edited April 5, 2009 by irishfield

[gone_fishin]

alright... thanks for the advice irishfield!!! much appreciated!

[sirfish]

check out this link . There is a vast wealth of knowledge from experts in the field. Just pose your query or peruse the pages of solutions.

 

http://pagebiz.com/bds/aluminum/repair.htm .

[F7Firecat]

just scuff it up and put a couple layers of fiberglasss on it, all you need is two pieces of 1 oz the about 2in by 2 in and your good to go.

[Greencoachdog]

My favorite quote for fixing a leaky boat!

 

I've just finished going over a few of the riveted seams in my aluminum canoe with a tube of plastic aluminum from Canadian Tire (5 bucks), some kind of roofing tar that came free with the house and finished it all off with a fresh coat of leftover ceiling paint. I'm obviously a firm believer in the theory that if a job is worth doing; it's worth doing right.

 

P.S. See you at the bottom.

 

[irishfield]

Yah got that right Dawg... about as scary as some of the suggestions on the link sirfish put up..

[Scott S]

Try JB Weld it worked for my boat. They sell it just about everywhere. Just clean up the area with a wire brush and put it on.

Scooter

[irishfield]

IMHO do it right the first time and get it over with. Hearing some "solutions" makes my head shake... but I will admit to using spray cans of that magic leak sealer paint "as seen on TV" in the nose of my F-in-laws 12' tinny 20 years ago. Yes it stopped the leak... but only for about 4 uses and then you'd have to do it again. Now I prefer to do stuff right the first time... and did it for 2 different boats yesterday spending 9 hours lying on the floor. One nice 17'6" Grumman hauled all the way from Bolton in that mess and the other a guy from Toronto that happens to have his cottage just North of Penetang and brought his Sea Nymph boat over on the advise of a certain casino pit boss we have here...

The 15 year old Grumman had some loose rivets on one side, that where drilled out and replaced with sealed tank rivets.. also adding a couple more to each rib to distribute the load so the starboard side didn't start cracking between rivets like the port side had in three spots. Port side got patches well outside the cracked areas... + added rivets to distribute load as well. Good for another 15 years or more again.

 

The Sea Nymph had broken the hull to seat brace off... rivets sheared off.. cracks between and growing from holes... so I had to make patches for the bottom to fix the cracks and help distribute the load out further for the new seat brace. Sealer looks a mess under it.. but I never clean sealer until it cures. Too many hit it with acetone to clean up and ruin the chemical properties of the sealant. Once it cures lightly, in about 3 days, the excess can be peeled off leaving what amounts to o-rings under the head of each rivet for a nice seal and a clean look. After about a week any remaining sealant is stuck like dung to a cows tail !

[irishfield]

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Edited April 5, 2009 by irishfield

[JeffV]

Hi folks. I am the guy with the Grumman from Bolton. All I can say is that Wayne knows what he is talking about. I would listen to his advice if you are serious about implementing a fix that will last more than a couple of months. I wish my boat was built by him, I probably wouldn't even be thinking about fixes if that was the case.