Hi, I'm new here to the forum and hoping for some insight! Just bought my first aluminum boat and the previous owner had it in salt water often. The hull has some corrosion underneath; visual pitting in 30-40 spots and about 15 small holes have developed. (The largest being about 1/8" diameter.) My question is what is the best method of repair? The boat is riveted, and I thought, at first, that was the problem so I looked up rivet repair. I've since been told that welding plates over a large area is the best fix. Which sounds great, but means completely stripping the boat down and flipping over... (Very time consuming and expensive) My findings on the rivet repair gave me this idea (and I could DIY): blast the entire area with a wire wheel to clean and expose all problems, drill out all holes to 1/4", rivet each hole with epoxy coated rivets, epoxy seal the hull inside and out. Would the areas where light corrosion exists stop corroding if I seal it all? Thoughts?? Thanks!!!
