aluminum hull repair with pics

[boatruptcy]

so my old man popped his 50 hp merc last year (found out the impeller was toast but he kept on truckin!) for his birthday i am going to surprise him with a new motor and new gauges etc. i stole it from the property we have and put it in my garage and have been lying to him ever since about the whereabouts and why its gone. i was on a major budget here so it wasnt done full blown (as you can see from the pics i really should have used a couple more bus bars etc.) but i did the best i could on a shoestring budget. this is my first time posting pics so bear with me, hope these come through okay.

[/IMG]
before the work began

wires wires everywhere, lucky he never had a problem

before i get to my hull question, a little background on what i did to the boat. she originally had only a fuel gauge and i have installed new tach, fuel, two volt guages (one for each bank), water pressure and water temp. so that he wont fry this one, oh yeah it is a 1982 mariner 70 that i bought from ebay. i put new stator, starter and wiring on the motor as well as new clamp and screws whereas these were corroded beyond belief. motor runs great now and was very pleased with the purchase.
i used all marine wire and heat shrink connectors throughout, pulled out tank and batteries put a new marine plywood deck and painted for the tank and batteries to sit on. rewired the entire boat, made the rear hatch open on stainless steel hinges so i will always have access and used a battery selector switch to combine banks for charging while motor is running, also installed a new two bank battery charger and new hoses where needed.
rewired the entire trailer and used all heat shrink connectors on it as well and added some marker lights.
again, it is definitely not perfect, however, as i mentioned before i was tight on money for this and i didnt want to be completely upside down in boat.

new gauges and switches

 

[boatruptcy]

aluminum hull repair with pics

relay for the trim/tilt was lying on the fuel line earlier

battery combiner and base for swivel chair, i permanently fastened this and made the hatch open around it.

hatch closed (obviously)

new motor mounted rigged and wire tied to love and back

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

as for my hull repair problem, i got my big arse under the trailer earlier and inspected (big papa told me it leaked when it ran and to run the bilge every couple of minutes!!!!!!!!!!!) well i quickly discovered why.

im no genius but i gather this is not the best way to fix a loose rivet.

this is a picture of the keel, there are several gaps here, what is the best way to waterproof??? i have read alot on aluminum repair on this site, but have never seen this addressed, could i just caulk it up with 5200? or use that gluvit product.

again it appears that someone had tried to address this problem before and it seems they know about as much as i do!!

this is the aft of the boat and the end of the keel strip for lack of a better term (like maybe the correct one!)

again from a different view, pretty funny site i imagine to see my 225 lb carcas army crawling under this little money pit (i love it anyway and so does he)
i guess basically i need some help with the best way to approach this repair, the boat definitely leaks when i sea trialed the motor earlier this week, its not terrible but has to be addressed. my biggest problem is that i really dont have access midship under the floor without a major tear out and i need to get this to dad by the end of the month. any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[Powerwe]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

Well, I'm sorry I don't know the best way to fix the keel gapping. As for the rivets I have a 16' alluminum Sears Gamefisher and I have to tighten my rivets every two to three years depending on the roughness of the water I fish in. The best way to tighten rivets is to first of all have two people there. One person is under the hull and the other on the top side. A small 3lb sledge should be held to the rivet on the under side of the hull while the inside of the same rivet is tightened by tapping it with a ballpin hammer. The ballpin hammer will help the rivet tighten the correct way as apposed to a flat faced hammer simply squishing the metal which will make all your problems worse.

Hope this helps with the rivet problem. Good on you for doing such a great thing for your father.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

yeah i was afraid i would hear that which means i would have to get the deck out. i checked all the other rivets and they seemed okay except for the ones that have the white goop on them. i guess that is called a keel skeg maybe? and does anyone know if it is structural or just there to protect the weld? it is only fastened with some screws from what i can tell and it may not be an issue that there is a gap there, possibly only water intrusion is from screw holes?? thanks for your response though.

 

[jonesg]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

CAn you put water in the hull and watch where it comes out?
probably everywhere heh...

it looks like the screws weren't sealed properly.
The seal has been done in the wrong place, the keelguard has to be removed to get at the hull and put the sealant in there.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

so you think i could pull the keel guard off and bed it with 5200 and also the screw holes and re-fasten?? i havent poured water in the bilge yet, but i will do it tommory and see what happens, thanks.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

okay i took jones' advice and filled the boat up with water. my girlfriend came out and asked in her very dry wit "doesnt the water go on the outside of the boat?" needless to say she will be wearing sunglasses indoors for the next week (j/k of course). so the good news is that its not the keel guard leaking, the bad news is that it is six rivets, one of which has already been attempted to be repaired. this takes me back to my original problem which is that removing the floor is just not an option, so does anyone know if there is a solution to waterproofing the leaky rivets from the outside. i understand it is not the ideal solution but surely someone has run it to this before. thanks again in advance.

you can see some of the water underneath

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

Just a thought...

There are sealed hole pop-rivets. Would that do the job? Would you be in any worse condition if you tried them and they did not do the job? (Actually pop-rivet is a brand name, so these were not precisely pop-rivets.)

TerryMSU

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

i will look into that, dont know what it is, i will probably just do a quick fix for now and spread some jb weld or wet weld on the exterior and wait till next fall and do it correctly, after reading some more tonight on iboats i realize the only correct way to do it is to gain access to bilge. thanks

 

[83ProLine]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

BTW - "boatruptcy" gets my vote for best name, ever!

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

ha, rings true for all of us doesnt it, im about to put the name to full use, i am acquiring storage for a full resto of a 26' 1986 wellcraft nova II, i oughta have my head checked.

 

[SKEETR]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

Go with the pop rivets. Home depot has a gun for 15 bucks or so. Screws tend to loosen and why seal it twice. I am sure there is a rivet kit at some boat shop, west marine, maybe. But if the fish are bighting goop it screw it and go get em

 

[jonesg]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

Why can't you drill out the leakers,
then apply some 5200 to the new rivets and pop em in. ?

am I missing something?

 

[Recruit]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

I have quick question for you of subject of your hull. I am COMPLETELY re-doing a boa my uncle gave me that has sat for 10 years. the electrical is completely shot and i was wondering what it cost you to redo yours. i thought i would ask since you did a great job on yours!

 

[Nova II 260]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

... so does anyone know if there is a solution to waterproofing the leaky rivets from the outside. i understand it is not the ideal solution but surely someone has run it to this before.

Go to a welding supply store and get some Lab-Metal ... Great stuff for aluminum repairs. Follow instructions !! I've used it on my aluminum tracker

 

[Nova II 260]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

ha, rings true for all of us doesnt it, im about to put the name to full use, i am acquiring storage for a full resto of a 26' 1986 wellcraft nova II, i oughta have my head checked.

I hope you'll be posting pics.
When it's done should look like the boat I just sold. '86 Nova II The cleanest one around.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

When it's done should look like the boat I just sold. '86 Nova II The cleanest one around.
.........
wow, great looking boat, yes it is the exact same as yours, but in terrible condition, i have a laundry list of things to do but finding a shop to work comes first, i love those novas still some of the best lines ever on a boat.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

I have quick question for you of subject of your hull. I am COMPLETELY re-doing a boa my uncle gave me that has sat for 10 years. the electrical is completely shot and i was wondering what it cost you to redo yours. i thought i would ask since you did a great job on yours!

welcome to iboats!! im pretty new here as well but a great site. its hard to give you an exact number but i can tell you go to ebay and plan your project. if you go into westmarine or boatersworld your just giving money away. find someone on ebay to sell you the wire in bulk (thats what i did) just make sure it is multi-stranded and tinned. the next most expensive thing are the heat shrink connectors but well worth it, not only do they keep corrosion at bay they actually strengthen your connections and splices thus making for a better wiring job. in my opinion, i would not cut corners here. if you dont get in a hurry and order your supplies from several places on the internet i would figure for under 500 you could have everything you need for al 18' boat. of course all that depends on what you put in it as far as gauges, switches, and bus bars etc. also, buy an abyc (american boat and yacht council) approved book on wiring and go to town!!! thats how i learned, i re-wired a 40' chris craft liveaboard and read as much as i could. good luck and pm me if you have any questions once you get going, or better yet, start a thread here and get answers from real experts.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: aluminum hull repair with pics

My suggestion is to find some closed-end rivets (I happen to have a bag of them, but will be needing them myself) and replace the leaky rivets. Then some JB weld spread nicely over top to keep them in place etc.

When you do pull the floor, coat everything from the inside with Gluv-it.

Both of these are on my to do list.