Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

I have a 1993 Tracker TX17. Water gets into the boat and my auto bildge kicks on every 15-20 minutes to drain it out. To determine where the water is getting in I filled up the boat from the inside with a hose while it was out of the water. There is a piece of metal that runs down the middle of the boat that is shaped like a "T" and is rivited on. The leak seems to be coming from a space between this piece if metal and the hull. I did not see water draining from the rivits.

Is the best option to pop/blind rivit this piece again? I can only access the underside of the boat, since the decking is in great shape and I do not want to mess with it. Will pop rivits pull the pieces back together or do I need a tool for that? Are pop rivits strong enough for this application? If so what size? And can I use a manual pop rivit gun or do I need something air powered?

Thanks for the help!

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

if you have access i would suggest you use GLUVIT inside, and 3M 5200 sparingly along the seam on the outside .. should be enough.

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

I have used PC-11 along the seam that was leaking before. I applied it, sanded it down to reduce water resistance painted it and it just ripped right off. I have a 70hp on the back so I get up to about 40mph and the stuff just ripped off. Would Gluvit hold on better than the PC-11?

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

hunteriii7 said:

I have used PC-11 along the seam that was leaking before. I applied it, sanded it down to reduce water resistance painted it and it just ripped right off. I have a 70hp on the back so I get up to about 40mph and the stuff just ripped off. Would Gluvit hold on better than the PC-11?

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Gluvit is a product designed to seep into thin voids between sheets of aluminum via capillary action. It is designed to be painted on fairly heavily from the inside of the boat at any aluminum seams. It wicks its way into cracks and voids, and then hardens like a sealer. I seem to remember someone saying it stays fairly flexible. However it does NOT hold up to UV light ( sunlight ) . So i would try that first. Many here who own tin boats have had great luck with the product. Good luck !

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

I do not have access to the inside of the boat due to the decking, only the bottom. Would welding be an option or would pop riviting with some strong rivits and a pheumatic gun do the trick?

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

hunteriii7 said:

I do not have access to the inside of the boat due to the decking, only the bottom. Would welding be an option or would pop riviting with some strong rivits and a pheumatic gun do the trick?

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Honestly i am surprised no others have joined in to answer your question but their answers would probably be the same. And frankly pop rivets will in myo opinion not close any gaps enough to stop your leak. You have to use sealant of some kind. Gluvit inside, and 3M 5200 on the outside. If your leak is at a joint, sand out the paint and old sealant with a grinder with steel brush attatchment, then reseal. If the leak is at a rivet then your only option is gluvit from the inside. Or you could drill out the old rivet and use an aircraft rivet like original. Pop rivets will do nothing for you as far as im concerned. I'm sorry. You will have to find a way to get inside the boat where you think the leak is at.
good luck

Also, welding may be an option if you are absolutely positive as to where the leak is. However, aluminum welding is VERY tricky and expensive to have done.

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

Auto Repair costs

The next thing that you need to do is to set your asking price. The asking price is very important because properly priced cars can be sold easier.

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get a few estimates some are much cheaper than others

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

That piece running down the middle of your boat is acting like a rain gutter. The water finds the lowest point to drip out, so you can't determine the exact location of the leak. If you can remove sections of your floor without the next option, great. If not, sad news when I find out for myself, but the only way is to de-construct the interior of your boat carefully. When the floor area of your boat is visible, back it in the water on the trailer. Water will only come through the leak. When you see it bubbling up....that's the spot. It would work even better if you could have someone on board as you back in, to be actively looking for the upwelling.

Think rivet gun. Pop rivets won't do.

I'm experiencing a very similar problem, check my thread.

Re: Best way to repair hull? Rivits? Pop/Blind?

I actually used 1/4" diameter by 1/2" long blind rivits dipped in M5200 marine sealer to replace some of the rivits that I indentified as leaky. I also added rivits on either side of any rivit that I replaced to over-engineer it since the blind rivits do not have the strenght of a solid rivit. I filled the boat up with the hose and 95% of my leaks were gone. The only places that were leaking were some of the rivits that I could not reach since the trailer was in the way, which I will adjust the position of the boat next time it is in the water so I can reach those, and a couple of rivits that I installed a bit crooked. I have yet to water test it so that will be the key. I just can not rip up a perfectly good deck since the leak is not catostrophic.

My last option, which I gained from lakorbay's extremely detailed thread which was great by the way, is to take off the entire keeling strip and fill all the rivits with pop rivits to seal the holes. Do you think that removing the keeling strip will adversely affect the handling of the boat? I saw a post that said this keeling strip was not needed and was excluded in later startcraft models. Thanks for any and all input and I will post water test results and pictures when I get them.