OLD Aluminum boat - pitting

PurpleDragon

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Nov 11, 2001
Messages
124
Well, I finally got my old 14' aluminum boat onto a lake last week. The old 12Hp Sears motor that is nearly 50 years old really did well - she was strong and responsive. No oil in the lower unit after taking her out of the water...<br /><br />I found out in a hurry, that I have a few hull leaks to take care of, though. Seems that the aluminum has oxidized enough that some of the pitting goes all the way through the hull.<br /><br />Wasn't too much of a problem - just wet feet, and some bailing about once every hour.<br /><br />When we got home, I put a wire brush onto my cordless drill, and took off the white powdery oxidation in a few areas - and sure enough - some of them DID go all the way through.<br /><br />I'm currently in process of sanding all the oxidation off, then will simply use either epoxy or JB Weld to fill the pitting, and will also freshly caulk (non-acid-based caulk - thank you Schematic!) all the rivets and seams...<br /><br />Anyone have any better suggestions? I not going to go to the extreme of glassing the exterior hull of the aluminum boat as I had seen in an earlier post from last winter...<br /><br />Rex S.
 
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