Hello I'm trying to seal 2 leaks on my 1983 16ft sea nymph I cirlced in marker the leaks. The first image is the inside of the hull. There is a rubber sealant present. Do I remove this and add gluvit to the seam? The second pic is on the outside of the hull directly below the spot on the first pic. There is another leak circled on the lower right hand side. There is no rivet there but there is a cross member directly above it.
We have a '57 Starcraft that had a leak around the drain plug. We looked at two solutions, and went with the latter. (No matter what you choose, practice on scrap first)
i.) Dura-fix... A low heat aluminum weld
ii.) J-B Weld... An epoxy/steel mix... (That worked very well, and is applicable to aluminum)
I've had pretty good luck with hardware store marine epoxy, the kind that comes in stick. Heck, in a pinch once I used some dough ball catfish bait on a pencil sized hole on a little 14 ft john boat I had borrowed from a buddie. it stayed on for two or three trips!
Gluvit is the best solution. You can even paint it on seams. Gluvit "creeps" and remains more flexible than JB weld.
I used gulvit on my 63 Starcraft and basicall kept the hull tilted until it dried (24 hrs) and then tilted it the other way ......... you want the hull positioned to have the gluvit creep into the seam.
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Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone think I should try to tighten the rivets? There are some rivets that seem pretty worn on the heads. Do I dare try and replace them? I like the gluvit idea I'm not sure if I can angle the hull(heavy) to get it to run in the seam, but I'll try.
(roofing tar. The colder/wetter it is, the stronger it is)
It looks like crap, but when your out in the middle of a lake and spring a pretty good leak (actually was already there, just never had the boat in the water before) It comes in handy, and will will swear my it from then on
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Re: sealing aluminum hull leak-pic
If you know how to buck rivets then go for it...othewise pop rivets work but need sealing. Most in my neighborhood repair alum using pop rivets with 3m 5200 plastered on the inside. If using an alum patch with 5200 under it you won't need fasteners. There are a lot of ways to do it but welding is the best if you can find a local shop that does alum.
The simplest way I used to fix such problems (& always had good luck) was to wire brush the area so it is all bright & clean & then work in silicon caulk, the $2-3 clear stuff in a tube is fine. You don't need a thick layer, work it into the seam & around the rivet with your finger & then just a thin layer on top does it. -- Any of the above methods work too.
Clean, clean and clean the area is the key to any good seal. Whatever product you're going to use. (posted elsewhere on iBoats)
I've used Lab-Metal by Alvin on my aluminum Tracker (old transducer holes and such)
A bit expensive but, works really well. Easy to work with, paintable and lasts forever. Be sure and follow the instructions.
Bought it at Fastenal But should be available at any welding or industrial supply house.
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sealing aluminum hull leak-pic
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