Leaky aluminum boat

[crownb]

What is the best thing to use to seal off seams and rivets from leaking?

[RobertScorpio]

A new boat.

Seen some infomercials about a black tar stuff. Never used it myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofMwxrWDUmQ

Hope this helps

[pointer]

Leak seal works great

[Redneck 7]

I used that spray and it worked for the most part but I've been thinking of the same with my boat since a lot of the rivets are leaking (not horrible just tiny bits). I can still be on the water for 4-5 hours and it's not a big worry.

I am planning on over hauling my 12' boat this spring with grey leak seal spray for the bottom of the boat and new paint of some sort for inside of it.

I also am thinking of a roll on box liner? The ones in trucks hold water and got me thinking it would work good.

I plan on selling my boat this fall and buying a new 15' flat bottom and I think I'll take it in and get it sprayed on box linered on the bottom.

[pikester]

Originally Posted by Redneck 7

I used that spray and it worked for the most part but I've been thinking of the same with my boat since a lot of the rivets are leaking (not horrible just tiny bits). I can still be on the water for 4-5 hours and it's not a big worry.

I am planning on over hauling my 12' boat this spring with grey leak seal spray for the bottom of the boat and new paint of some sort for inside of it.

I also am thinking of a roll on box liner? The ones in trucks hold water and got me thinking it would work good.

I plan on selling my boat this fall and buying a new 15' flat bottom and I think I'll take it in and get it sprayed on box linered on the bottom.o

I used roll on bedliner on my 16" aluminum & it worked but it's not very durable; it peels little chunks off the bottom every time I run the boat up on rocks or sand. The manufacturer also states that prolonged submersion will lead to failure of the product so I certainly wouldn't leave my boat in water over night. I suspect a commercial type spray liner material, professionally applied like Linex might be tougher & longer lasting?

A metal working dude also gave my boat a once over to tighten up the rivets a bit; he had me climb under the boat & push a body workers dolly up against each rivet while he whacked the topside of each rivet with a peening hammer. Seemed to help.

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by crownb

What is the best thing to use to seal off seams and rivets from leaking?

How big is the boat?
Can you access both sides?

[Sure Shot]

I did the same thing as the gentlemen in post #4.
Works great never had a problem after.


http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=108329

[harryones]

I bought these sticks a couple of years ago and a quick sand, heat with torch and melt on the patch. Haven't had a issue since. Not sure if they still sell them but check out the link.

Boat Patch

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by crownb

What is the best thing to use to seal off seams and rivets from leaking?

We had a 16 foot Lund that took some damage and started leaking.

Big brother and I tightened the rivets along the leaking seam by having him gently hammering the inside end with the round head of a ball-peen hammer from the inside while I held a sledge against the head of the rivet on the outside.
That worked for us.

[saskbooknut]

If it is only a few rivets, tighten them up or replace them as necessary. Use the proper rivet bucking bar to do good work. I did this more than 20 years ago so my experience is a bit dated.

Not sure who has stock of tools and rivets these days, but we bought from a local boat repair in Saskatoon.

Aircraft suppliers and Ebay are possible sources of rivets and bucking bars.

I have also used blind pop rivets for replacing just a few rivets.

[Brodhead]

JB weld has worked on various aluminum jobs for me, including boat repairs. It takes some time to harden but hasn't leaked in the 8+ years its been since I patched a couple holes in the bottom of the boat.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[Remo]

I freshened up my 14ft aluminum last year. First I flipped the boat upside down then used a wire wheel to clean and prep every seam and area where I could see separation.

Then I used some painters tape and a friend's help and made two tape lines on either side of the seam. Once that was done I used 3M marine sealant in each seam and used my finger to smooth it out and press it in. After they were all done, I removed the tape and there was zero goopy mess around the seams. Nice and clean lines.

After that, I used the wire wheel to clean up the oxidized paint on the sides and repainted it with the same colour.

Doesn't leak at all now, and it looks amazing.




My 2 cents.

[fish99]

on my tin boats i have used spray under coating from canadian tire works great not good looking but its on the bottom . also used the spray for the roof on the camper no more leaks. cheap and easy to use , just besure to let dry well before putting the water.

[RiverHawk]

I hope this post isn't about my boat Crownb! Did one of the bulls get out??

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by crownb

What is the best thing to use to seal off seams and rivets from leaking?

Redo the rivets, solve the problem don't patch it. You can try hitting the rivets with a hammer and a block on the other side to tighten them up.

Drilling and riveting is pretty easy. A Saturday, with a couple of buddies and some "pops" she'll be as good as new.

Jay

[The Fisherman Guy]

Flexible seal, applied to the interior seams below the waterline of the boat will cure it. Be sure the clean it very thoroughly, then clean it again with alcohol - before you apply the seal product.

Then, spray the interior with bedliner.