???fix leak

[scooter@111]

!2 ft' aluminum welded boat- 6 inch stress crack in weld - best way to fix-- thanks

 

[Grub54891]

Welding would be the best option, possibly reinforcing the area would help it to not happen in the future. Can you upload a pic?

 

[jbcurt00]

Sort of depends on what caused the stress crack and whether that condition continues.

Re-welding w reinforcement may simply transfer stress to another location that is more likely to crack because its the new weak point......

What caused the stress and/or crack?

Where is the cracked weld?
Stern corners/transom?
Along a welded seam on the bottom? Hull side?
Bow?
Keel?

A pix would be great

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Welding dirty contaminated aluminum is tricky also welding upside down will most likely not work. A 6” crack thats not a result of impact is a result of something maybe a stringer has come loose or broken. Marine epoxy and carbon fiber mesh can be very strong but youll have to address the cause before doing anything. Ive seen some long term fixes with it in larger boats that are pounding big waves. if the boat can be turned upside down and cleaned to the level tig welding would work you might find some success but be aware your crack may become a hole in a nano second. I tig and Mig weld aluminum and dirty aluminum is tough and the thinner it is the trickier it is I have to assume your boats under .080” thick in this area right. That is not very thick by the time youve cleaned it and prepped it.

 

[82rude]

I would use epoxy to fix and then coat the bottom with fasco and you would have a leakfree boat for a very long time.Best done with boat flipped but not absolutely necessary.Did my 160 ss like that and zero leakage .Also I cant see why a good welder couldn't fix you up also.Im not a good al welder and tried the epoxy route and its worked great.

 

[dingbat]

Do yourself a favor and bag the shade tree epoxy route.

Find a welder that doesn’t hestatite to jump in (or feeds you the “how hard aluminum is to weld line) and have it done right the first and last time.