Is there something I can do instead of re-rivoting my leaky boat? I have a wooden carpeted floor over the bottom of the boat and can remove the floor. Could I use some kind of glue/silicone over the rivots?
Some have used a product called "Glovit", it a coating.I have used regular old silicone sealer, and even screwed a sheet metal screw into a hole from a missing rivet.
Cobra,I had a big alum boat and I replaced some rivets with stainless nuts and bolts ,insulated with 3m 5200 sealant and nylon washers.The rivets that leaked only a little I cleaned up good and applied 3m 5200 sealant to both sides.It works great.The gluvit is good to fill any gaps if you are doing it from the topside.the 5200 can be done from underneath and adds strength which the gluvit does not. charlie
I picked up a used polarkraft that leaked very badly through the rivets.I called polarkraft to order replacements. The guy on the phone told me that if I sent it to him for repair, all he would do is reset the rivets that were there.This is how he told me to do it. Remove floor and seats and anything that prevents you from accessing all the rivets. Have someone under the boat with a heavy piece of steel to back up the rivet. I used a sledge hammer. While the rivet is backed up drive the top side of the rivet with another piece of steel, I used a 1/2-inch steel dowel and drove it with 2lb hammer. I used three moderate blows per rivet. The rivets are pretty soft. Your only trying to re-mushroom the top of the rivet. This worked very well and took about 1/2 hour to do all the rivets after the seats were out. This boat took on about 2 gallons an hour when I got it. It has been bone dry since I reset the rivets. That was 4 years ago. This is my duck hunting boat and gets used from September through February.The reason rivets start to leak is the flexing of the hull againts them over time. Once I was sure it was dry I put a floor in the boat using fasteners every 8-inches on center. This took all the flex out of the hull.I first tried jb weld and that didn't work because the flex was still in the boat. Plus I didn't jb weld all of them, only the ones I though were leaking.You can try patches and the like, but I think this method is far superior to using patch material. And it is what the manufacturer recommends.pbailey
baily has the ticket! my buddy that rebuilds outboards told me about the same technique only he uses a small air hammer, he tells me that it is the only way to fix a rivet.
15' Aluminum boat leaks through rivots
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