Can I expect to make a 45 year old alum. boat water tight?

lakelover

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My slowly-moving-project boat is a 1964 riveted aluminum Starcraft (http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309879).

So far, I've rebucked the rivets along sections of the seams where water was very slowly seeping in when I did my leak test, and sealed all the seams and floor rivets with one coat of Gluvit.

In another thread, someone said not to expect to get an old aluminum boat fully water tight. Maybe it's an obsession, but I take leaks personally! I love a completely dry boat. I'm thinking of dragging it to the launch to water test it again before I put the plywood floor in to see how I did, but that's another story because the trailer is in pretty crappy shape.

For my own sanity, tell me, is it realistic to hope for NO leaks?
 

tmcalavy

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Re: Can I expect to make a 45 year old alum. boat water tight?

Depends on the wear factor...if it was used and badly abused, water tight may be a pipe dream. Barring any through-the-hull spots poorly repaired, you may have it water tight after bucking the rivets and using Gluvit. Put some blocks under it and put water in it and look for leaks. Check your trailer first.
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Can I expect to make a 45 year old alum. boat water tight?

Yes you can seal it up. Now my 14' Starcraft has a leak only when I turn left...... it drove me nuts until I found it. Part of the seam when UNDER PRESSURE from a port turn leaks a bit of water. That is why we tell people to gluvit the hull whiile tipped so it flows into the seams and do the other side the next day.

Another school of thought which applies to mine too..... water leaks in ....not out.

The best detector is your eyes (not mine lol I usually recruit the wife of my son). Are you planning on painting the bottom? You can use gluvit on the outside before you paint in suspected spots. You can touch up leaks with 3m5200 too.
 

lakelover

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Re: Can I expect to make a 45 year old alum. boat water tight?

I think it was pretty well taken care of, there are only a couple small dings & dents.

To do my first leak test, I filled the boat with water until the seams were covered. I don't know why, but it seems it would be easier to spot leaks from the inside with the boat in the water, not with the water in the boat. I don't plan to paint the outside of the hull, but maybe some day I'll do that. It's a low priority for now.

If I don't strike it lucky the first time around, I'll probably end up settling for "good enough".

I am neurotic about leaks, though. That's probably because the first motor boat I ever drove when I was a kid was a wooden Penn Yan where I had to bail fast enough to keep my feet relatively dry.
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Can I expect to make a 45 year old alum. boat water tight?

+1 on the leaks. When I was a young teen my Dad had a wooden flat bottom Dory that had Rope caulking is used for caulking. It would sink the first time out until the wood swelled...... needless to say in choppy water the caulk would blow out of a seam and bailing was the only way to stay afloat!
 
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