aluminum boat repair

I have a 12ft Sears jon boat, that I bought used in 1976. The boat has served me well over the years in small waters using trolling motor.The boat was sitting on ground in 2004 when a tornado blew a tree down across on side on right front, crumpling that side of boat for about 12in. Is there any way to straighten that portion that was crumpled down and then of course repair the aluminum that was torn when side crumpled. Thanks for any advise. Graybird

Re: aluminum boat repair

Hammer it out with a large rubber mallet (weighted). Back up the areas that you are hammering with a weight.

You'll get some cracks as aluminum doesn't "bend" very well.

Have the cracks and splits professionally welded. It won't be pretty but it will be functional.

Re: aluminum boat repair

You could try to beat it out and rivet a patch over your hole with sealant. might be too thin to weld.

Re: aluminum boat repair

I have a 12ft Sears jon boat, that I bought used in 1976.

Click to expand...

Ayuh,...

Realistically,....

Scrap it....

There's No Way in 'ell it's worth the Effort to rebuild it....

Re: aluminum boat repair

depends on what you are looking to accomplish and what this thing looks like. If its not horrible I can see pounding it back close and having a few spots welded. I had great Success on a bent up Canoe with some wood blocks, some large C clamps and a big rubber mallet.

I clamped on a block longer then the bent area, and put the large C clamps to the middle of the bent area nice and tight then beat on the area with the mallet. after a few attempts and repositioning I had it close enough.

However, if this thing has been flattened I would probably pull the plug.

Re: aluminum boat repair

really we need some photos of the boat before any advice can be given the last time a boat was brought in with this type of damage for repair it was written off as the only way to repair it was to replace the hole side and transom.
smaller dings can be repaired as described Shizzy.

Re: aluminum boat repair

In my area boats that size in good shape are selling for $150 or less (no motor or trailer).

If you can't fix it yourself in a few hours then it needs to be sold for the scrap.

Re: aluminum boat repair

use a dead blow mallet, strong piece of wood on the other side, have someone that can weld aluminum weld up cracks and possibly a support bar by the bend. should ony cost a couple of bucks to get it welded. always hate to see a boat go to waste if it can be saved

Re: aluminum boat repair

The correct way to repair aluminum is to heat it to between 300-400 degrees and watch what it does. Aluminim will try to go back to its prior shape when heated and that's exactly what you want it to do. You can coax it with a body hammer and backer dolly but never try to make it right all in one shot or your sure to create cracks that will continue to creap for ever. Often studs are spot welded to strategic points and a puller used to gently pull the metal while heating it.

The trick is the heat. You never want to exceed 400 degrees or you will soften the metal and it will go wacky on you, (you can reharden it but it's difficult to get it right again). If you cool it too quickly you will anneal it and it will crack. Bosch makes a LED heat gun that works perfect for this job. I use one and have removed every dent and ding from two of my boats, (well all but the 12" gash, that's a different process).

It will take time so set your patience meter to high and go slow and easy. You will be amazed at how straight you'll get it. By the way, this is the way that is taught in the automotive repair schools.

As a side note - If the metal is extruded (stretched) then you will have to grind a cut into the length of the extrusion in order to get it to lay flat again. You cannot de-extrude the metal without special equipment (rollers). You also cannot beat an extrusion back to shape because it doesn't work that way.

Hope that helps and good luck.

Steve