I just bought a used boat trailer from a co-worker. He threw his 14' aluminum boat in for free because it had been beaten pretty badly by being trailered too many miles on very rough roads. He had most of the structural damage repaired by having some welding done on it, but there are a lot of rivets that are leaking. He tried to tighten them up by peening them a little which helped some, but didn't completely fix the problem.

I'm wondering what suggestions the brain trust here at the Campfire might have. I've already heard suggestions that I should try JB weld or something similar. As stated earlier, the boat was free, so if I can't fix it it's not a big deal, I'll just sell it for what I can with full disclosure and pick up a better boat.

So, any suggestions? Thanks.

(Work keeps me from being able to spend much time here these days, so I'll check in from time to time each day.)

How much is aluminum scrap going for these days?

Replace the rivets or have them welded. A leaky boat is nothing but a pain, and nothing else will fix it without more of the same.

...or that.

That though has crossed my mind, too.

There are ways of tightening up the rivets by peening them with a hammer.

I have an old aluminum jon boat that had the same problem. I used "roof patch" in a caulking tube to cover the rivets on the bottom side so it wouldn't leak. It doesn't look pretty but sure does work great. Cost was less than $2.00 and it took less than 15 minutes to apply.

I did just what you describe on an old 10' flat bottom boat that I have. Worked good, but I had to reapply the stuff every year. Not a big deal, but I'm hoping to find a longer lasting solution.

JB weld and trade out the bunks on the trailer so they support the entire boat lenghtwise.

I have heard good things from several different people about this stuff.

http://www.cabelas.com/boat-care-appearance-cabelas-aluminum-boat-patch-1.shtml

That cabelas epoxy works well. It held up on my dad's little $50 jonboat for a few years. This spring, he's having all the rivets replaced with larger ones and having a bunch of welding done. A friend of mine from high school is doing it for free, so I have no idea what it would cost to get done.

Be sure to "back-up" the rivet when you try peening it.

There are auto body tools that work for that (there is a name for it, but can't recall at the moment). You can also use a sledge. when you hit the rivet, try to do so in a way that will round over the edges of the head - don't just smack it flat.

before you glue anything, realize if you glue anything you may never be able to weld them shut ever due to contamination.

I'd find an AL welder and have em all welded personally. Shouldn't be all that much cost.

OF course we have a similar one for the back pond, it never leaves the farm, it has epoxy on them and easy enough to repair again. But it doesn't take a beating either.

Only way for sure if its going to be used, weld.

You can also check with local schools with ag programs... sometimes they'll weld for the experience with a tig or spool gun, just for cost of supplies basically...

BTW a small welding job is usually not as small as you think.. gas for AL isn't cheap, could be give or take 100-200 bucks depending. could be more.

+1

To do it right, you have to remove the loose rivets and put in oversize ones. Someone has to hold a buck on one side while you peen them from the other.

Welding doesn't work very well on a riveted boat. The rivets have to hold the layers together tightly.

Jerry

The family farm had in possession an old 12' or 14' jon boat when I was growing up, not sure who really owned it, it just got passed around and used by whoever. Most of the rivets were pulled through or totally missing.

My buddy and I one day bought some new pop rivets and a bucket of washers. Used the washers because the holes that had pulled through were larger than the rivets we could come up with. Riveted/washered it all back together as tight as we could, then gave a good dose of silicone caulking everywhere we could squirt it. Sea-worthy it wasn't, but we didn't get too wet while fishing for channel cat in some farm ponds.

take it in and have bedliner installed - or do it yourself - it will easily seal the bottom- after you tighten loose rivets - or bondo/epoxy each one along the seams -- adds minimal weight

I read the first few pages of reviews for this stuff. Looks like about 90% of the people are having great luck with it. Thanks for the link!

take a kid along with you and hand him a rusty bail can to bail with

That is how I was introduced to fishin'


I sluffed off on the job until I noticed how fast the old rotten wood row boat leaked, and how far we were from the shore of that ice cold Michagan lake...
back to bailin!

Long term fix- Two-man crew with a rivet gun and a bucking bar, tightening the ones that you can, and replacing the ones you can't.

Short term fix- any of the good quality epoxies, including the one from Cabela's. I've always gone with 3M ; they make very high quality products. Their 5200 is good stuff.

I've never seen it done but I always thought that truck bedliner goop would great way to seal a leaky boat. Tighten up the rivets as best you can and then cover the inside with a thin layer. It would add some weight though.

Bed liner is HEAVY....

Welding has solved many of the problems in boats here locally that were riveted so it does work. And seems to be much more permanent than re-riveting.

From what i understand, tighten the rivets up by bucking up with an iron, and using a hammer. After that, coat the inside with a product called Gluvit. Supposed to work real well. Check out the Starcraft forum on iboats. Lotsa good info...

Gluvit Epoxy Sealer
This is what we sold for that.

rost- welding is permanent, re-riveting is permanent. Either will work well, it just depends on how much time and money you want to put into an old boat.
One of the problems associated with welding aluminum is changing the hardness of it. In many cases, the rivet or damaged area of the boat is annealed to a softer temper after exposure to heat from welding, and that soft area will be much more susceptible to later damage. Herein lies the reason we never weld repair, aluminum aircraft primary structure or skin.
Many people will choose to weld rather than rivet simply for the reason it's easier to do.

Kids these days are so soft that they'd probably drown waiting for someone to show up and help.

They do make wicking type sealers for castings, and threaded connections. The sealer is so thin that it wicks into joints by capillary action, and then cures after it loses contact with oxygen. Don't think that would fix loose rivets, but if he has re-riveted most of them, it may help significantly on the leaks.

The problem here is that the water will still get through the cracks, then you have it under the liner. A little freezing and thawing and it's sure to separate sooner or later.

i have 8 or 9 old aluminum boats i put in mississippi river lakes once the water falls out. no need to have a leaky boat.

put the boat on a couple saw horses. fill 4-5" with water. get a dark crayon and mark every leak. take it to a good welder (who can properly weld thin alimunim beacuse many can't) and have every leak welded. go fishin'

i've tried other repair methods and nothing has worked for me as well as welding. ymmv.

my brother and I have fixed thousands of loose rivets..get a pneumatic hammer,and a concave bit.Use a 4 lb sledge on the inside,tighten any leaky rivets.An hour or two will do it.

We even bought a few boats for scrap because they leaked so bad,and were able to fix them easy.It you lived close ,I'd show you how to do it.

+1 on spray-in bedliner

I appreciate the suggestions guys. It's not really all that old as aluminum boats go, and if I can save it I will. Next step will be to really see just how bad it leaks and then take it from there.

I'll add this. If there's any paint of any type in the bottom of the boat it would nix the idea of sealants, epoxy or bedliner material. The stuff most manufacturers apply never adheres well and anything applied over the top is only as good as what's underneath.

One other thing to look at is the structure of the boat. I'm talking the seats, stringers, transom - all the bit and pieces that tie the boat together. The stronger it is the less it flexes and the less chance you'll have of things working loose again. It makes a big difference.

I mentioned the bedliner thing as a relatively cheap down and dirty quick and easy way to go. I will agree that replacing the loose rivets is probably a better way to go. That and a little silicone would be a more permanent fix.

Welding is a good fix but the thinner it is the more problems you'll run into for the reasons levrluvr stated. Especially with the seams.

I do a lot of bass fishing & have had a small water aluminum boat in addition to my fiberglass bass boat for over 40 years. The places where I use an aluminum boat tend to have stumps, laps, etc. so the boat gets abuse. When they leak I try to tighten the rivets as best as I can. Then I use E-Z Weld Aluminum Repair Rods. Ph. 770-655-1862 email pitchman [email protected]. I use a drill with a coarse grinder to clean around the rivet. Then melt the rod with a torch all around the rivet & let set up. Works for at least 4-5 years. The Cabela's product may be similar & probably works as well. I build carpeted floors for my aluminum boats as well as decks, etc. I have purchased boats like Alumicraft & rigged out & used for 3-4 years & sold for more than the boat, trailer & componets cost.

I haven't had much time to look at how well the boat is supported, but at a glance it appears that the boat needs more support from the trailer. I only see 2 rollers, one near each end of the boat, and 2 bunks that support the rear 1/3rd of the bottom hull.

I know that the previous owner trailered it into Ontario at least a few times and I suspect they had loaded the boat down with gear for the trip. This extra weight combined with poor support put a lot of stress on the areas of the boat that did have support, leading to the leaks.

Just different takes on it really, I"d never rivet my AL airboat when I had the chance to weld it. Welding is just more permanent.

Of course we also run hull jacks in the hulls too to add stability where its needed.

And when given a choice to rivet or bolt the poly on, the bolts get chosen every time.

On aircraft, you deal with a different issue.

Of course you are having good luck with rivets and there isn't anything wrong with that. Other than I'd rebuck em hard if it were mine and then weld over them all.

Of course airboats take a much more horrible pounding than any water boat ever will and the welding just seems to hold better.

You raise a good point about not applying any coatings. If I do apply any coatings, Gluvit was mentioned earlier, it'll probably be on the unpainted bottom of the hull.

On the trailer make sure the bunks extend past the transom. The longer/wider they are and the more support under the boat the better. Get rid of the rollers as a means of support. The rollers should only be used for guiding the boat onto the bunks.

Good idea on lengthening the bunks. I'll look into that. You're right about the rollers too. The forward one has been beaten into rubber shreds because it's the only support the hull has forward of the bunks. This is also the area of the hull that has had patches welded on the hull.

At the front of the boat having it tied down and securely supported by the winch (if you have one), the eye and a roller or v-block will prevent it tilting foward and back on the bunks. It helps to distribute he load.

Probaablly replacing all the rivets with larger ones and sealing all rivets and joints.