up the creek sans paddle

[Gnarly]

I just purchased a 22 foot islander with trailer, took it for a test drive at the marina everything was in beautiful shape and it only has 574 hours on it according to the hourmeter, after making the deal and when I went to pick it up the next morning it was covered below the waterline in algae/ slime , most of it cleaned up real well but the transom is a disaster due to galvanic corrosion, the boat was in fresh water with zinks on it offering no real protection and some idiot installed a swim step and transducer bracket with no attempt to prevent it.
Im wondering the best way to repair this as the rest of the boat is flawless, Im going to have it filled with weld if possible and then go over the affected area's with sealant sandwiched between riveted on 5052 1/8" doublers
whadaya all think?
I'll put a new leg on it next year if it needs it but am going to try and fill in the pitting with jb weld

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Oh dang..
So you didnt see her outta the water until you purchased her huh?

 

[motorpsykler]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

What about this stuff?: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/readonly-item.jsp?id=010655&itemTemplate=products-found&cmCat=EOF

Apparently you apply it with a propane torch. Anybody have any experience with this stuff?

JB Weld is great stuff, it has got me out of alot of fixes, but I would worry about applying it to a surface. It tends to be brittle and would probably crack.

 

[efgolden]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Your on the right track...get a high speed grinder,set up with 3`` scotchbrite abrasive discs and the light sanding discs remove any sharp edges from the holes....I wouldn`t even worry about welding the holes, it will just create more work when you apply the doublers grind and scotchbrite till you have removed all the corrosion from both sides ...1/8`` 5055 will be just fine...sandwich the area with both doubler plates and coat all surfaces with aircraft sealent ..the kind that stinks so bad you can`t hardly stand it...It has to have this sealent and nothing else research aircraft sheet metal repair and get an idea of what should be done you will need some clecos and numbered drill bits.....check out The Barn in Witchita Ks. I was a sheetmetal man for United Airlines and have seen tons of that crap....every airplane under the lavs and galleys amazing what a few spilled cokes will do to aluminum. Oh meant to tell you to alodine all surfaces and then paint with an epoxy zinc chromate primer before apply ing the sealant ....make your parts and put it together with your drilled rivet holes and there will be a lot of them... make sure everything looks good and put it together,if it looks good take it apart and apply the sealant ,use a q tip and apply sealant tho every rivet and hole . you can clean up with acetone ed

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Hey Ed
Im going to seal it with pro seal 870, its got chromate in the sealant and is most likely what you remember (used for wet wing fuel cells) , Ive mechanically removed all the corrosion, applied vinegar-water mix , zinc chromated it and now filled the pits with jb weld instead of warping everything welding it. Im just going to scab patch right over with cherrymax rivets with zinc chromate and wet proseal applied to both surfaces prior to riveting them together as well as putting the rivets in wet, I'll seal it all with a bead afterwards as well and it should be good as new if not better. Its not a stressed skin so was planning on using 2 1/2 Diameter edge spacing with 5/32 or 3/16 rivets and 1 inch spacing on the remainder.
Im glad you piped up as I was wondering how hard this boat stuff could possibly be, I do helicopters for a living up here in Canada and aluminum is aluminum I figure.
Dave

 

[efgolden]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Sounds good knarly...keep us informed.

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Just an update for anyone thats following along or interested, I got my .125 5052 patches done, today I laid out the rivet pattern and drilled a pile of holes. Hopefully UPS brings the rivets tomorow and we'll be in business. So to summarize to this point Ive mechanically removed all the corrosion, vinegar and watered the remaining metal, zinc chromated and applied JB weld to the pitting twice (knocked it down etc) finally Ive chromated the entire repair area fabbed patches and laid out the rivet pattern. I managed to get real zinc chromate (hard to get here these days) and am going to be using PRC 1422 B2 sealant from aviall ( has chromate in it and is used to seal aircraft fuel cells as well as between sheets on repairs such as this) between the hull and the scab patch as well as dipping the rivets and installing them wet ( 3/16 aluminum structural rivets in the double outer row and 3/16 aluminum self sealing in the center of the patch on one inch spacing)
a few pics to bring you up to speed

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

few more

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Any of you islander guys have an idea of what this thing will do for speed when I finally get it done with the 170hp mercruiser in it? how about a 3200 rpm cruise? ball park guess will do
thanks

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Gnarly I dont think ya got enough holes in them plates yet maybe 2 or 3 more each JK looking good man .



Rick

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Well UPS finally showed up with the rivets
here it is going together with everything dripping with sealant

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

What about this stuff?: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/readonly-item.jsp?id=010655&itemTemplate=products-found&cmCat=EOF

Apparently you apply it with a propane torch. Anybody have any experience with this stuff?

JB Weld is great stuff, it has got me out of alot of fixes, but I would worry about applying it to a surface. It tends to be brittle and would probably crack.

I used that Cabela's stick on my 12' tin can and it's worked pretty well. Knowing what I know now I'd use gluvit but the patches have been keeping water out(along with some elbow grease rebucking rivets).

If you want to check it out my resto link is below. Not the prettiest stuff but it can be sanded and painted and it does adhere very well. The only parts that have chipped off are right on the stern keel where the boat was dragged a little from dropping it into little lakes/rivers

Sounds like you opted for the aluminum patches but figured I'd answer the question for good measure

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Well she's starting to take shape and I'm happy I went the scab patch route with structural rivets and chromate sealant etc as she'll be spending a lot of time in the salt in the years to come. Here's a few more pics

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Gnarly that is looking like one solid patch job right there...what saltwater are you going to be in? If you mentioned the location I missed it.

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

The pacific, Prince Rupert British Columbia is the plan.

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

That's rather creative. And I know quite a bit of work. How many rivet holes did you end up with? I saw your original post and my first thought would have to been to cover it all with new .125 and heliarc the perimeter tacking it occasionally across the face. I bet you've done just fine though.

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

I ordered 250 3/16 structural rivets for the two outside rows and 500 5052 self sealing 3/16 rivets for the center, I dont have many structural ones left and less than half the box of self sealers, it certainly isnt going anywhere and I would guess between 5-600 rivets. The reason I didnt go with weld was fear of warping everything and its hard to fill holes (for me anyways )welding aluminum especially with a little lincoln migpack (and lack of experience /skill beyond basic butt/ lap joints) I wanted the chromate process applied underneath the repair and it sealed for good. I also wondered about setting the wood in the transom on fire if a guy welded it , be just my luck

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Rolled some paint on her this morning
drained the leg oil and hopefully I'll get her in the water for a splash later this week if time allows

 

[Gnarly]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Well I finally plunked her in the water today, 32.5 mph WOT, and a nice comfortable 20.5 mph @ 3100 rpm , the boat worked and ran perfectly for the 2.5 hours we had her out there today

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: up the creek sans paddle

Gnarly glad to hear she's running so well...ny the way that picture of the wake with the mountains and mist is a really nice shot Some nice scenery where you're boating.

Did you fish too or just cruise to test the motor?