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Aluminum Boat Patchwork Help/Advice

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    Aluminum Boat Patchwork Help/Advice

    Grabbed a wide 14 foot jon boat with a title for cheap on Craigslist...I knew going in that it had a leak, but figured I could give a patch a shot. May have been a little optimistic...

    The whole hull is sound minus a spot about 6-10" from the transom, where the gas tank would sit, and was really the only place it leaked.

    I took the grinder to the gobs of silicone, flex seal and JB weld to see what I was dealing with, rather than just add to that mess. This is about where I got before the grinder grabbed the edge of the crack and pulled it open some more. I basically left it at that over the weekend, and Easter and T-ball have kept us busy since.

    I've got clean aluminum on the bottom of the boat. Obviously some JB weld still on the inside hull on this picture, you can see a lot of that gunk in the channel.

    Any advice GS? Keep grinding this off and then braze the aluminum? Rivet a patch in? Fiberglass? just go back with JB weld?
    Attached Files

    #2
    Is this spot flat? It almost looks 90 degrees but may be an illusion. I would get 2 pieces of 1/16th aluminum plate and make a sandwich patch. Fill the hole with marine jb weld sanded down as smooth as you can. Put a piece of rubber inner tube or marine 5200 between the patch and boat on both sides of the hole. Stainless bolts with nylon washers and locking nuts with nuts on the inside of the boat. DIY for sure.

    Or pay someone to weld a patch on. Might be $150 but sometimes hard to find someone to do those small jobs.

    Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

    Comment


      #3
      Why do they always crack on a corner and not a flat spot ??????? I would go from the outside, cut a patch about 2-3" bigger all around than the hole and pop rivet it on and then JB weld the outer edges of the patch.

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        #4
        The best way is to weld a piece in, or you will sooner or later have a leak again

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          #5
          Here's a better view...not sure a sandwhich patch would work right on this channel/corner.

          I did consider finding a welder to take this but the first one I asked to take a look at it said he would have to charge more than it would likely be worth to me for a cheap little boat.
          Attached Files

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            #6
            flex seal is the cheapest best quickest,or get it welded.

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              #7
              Our warehouse roof was in such bad shape you could see from inside to the outside - including through the rusted perlins.
              Before we replaced it our roofer came in and "painted" this stuff on in a couple of light coats and built up a skin that you could still see through but water wasnt leaking in. That lasted about a year till he did the actual replacement.

              I am trying some of this on a riveted flat bottom for our pond. Takes a week to dry and 2 weeks to completely cure. It remains flexible as far as I can tell.
              Attached Files

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                #8
                I used Flex Seal and regular JB Weld for a cheap jon boat I bought off here, and it has worked well.

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                  #9
                  Stop by a welding/fab shop, I bet they'd patch it for around $50 or less.

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                    #10
                    Do you now anybody with a mig welder you could borrow? Wouldnt take but a few minutes to weld a patch on.

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                      #11
                      friend of mine/ neighbor is a member on here. dont remember his screen name. Let me find it. Him and his dad build all kinds of aluminum stuff and i bet he could fix it for you. They work in crosby tx

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                        #12
                        id take a piece of alum angle and run a fat bead of silicone before drilling it to the corner with short self tapping screws. Trim down screws outside and put silicone on ends to seal and cover sharp screw

                        remember you are dealing with a jon boat here... not a high dollar yacht.. just make it functional and dry

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                          #13
                          Fluxless brazing rods. All you need is a propane torch.
                          I have fixed a ton of aluminum with them, and it flat out works.
                          For that spot, it's as good as welding.
                          If there's any flex, JB weld will last not time.

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                            #14
                            It's not going to be cheap to have welded unless you have a buddy with a tig or spool gun. That crack is going to be full of whatever they used to seal it and isn't going to want to weld worth a crap.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by hogslayer78 View Post
                              It's not going to be cheap to have welded unless you have a buddy with a tig or spool gun. That crack is going to be full of whatever they used to seal it and isn't going to want to weld worth a crap.
                              Truth. That whole area will need to be sanded down to clean aluminum. The crack will need to be clean as well if it’s to be welded. I might would try marineweld epoxy first, but the surfaces still need to be clean. I might make a suggestion and take a 3/32 drill bit and drill thru each end of the crack to stop it from spreading. Then weld or epoxy both sides.
                              If you ever own an aluminum canoe and abuse it , you learn how to fix it

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