Leaking at a rivet

[liprippinrobbie]

I have a few rivets that leak a little bit but one that drips pretty consistently. I tried placing two part marine epoxy on it after cleaning and sanding the rivet but to no avail. It still leaks. Any advice? Im a little worried to take my boat out if it's actively leaking. I have a pump btw.


Thanks

 

[Scott Danforth]

Rebuck the river

 

[airshot]

From the pic it looks like some aluminum is missing. You might need a small patch over that area. If no material is missing, try some " goop" over the area, I have had good sucess with this stuff.

 

[Moserkr]

Correct fix is replace the leaking rivets with new solid rivets.

Short term fix is put a blind rivet in there covered in goop or some other sealant. Then keep an eye on it. Wont be as structurally strong but should stop the leaks.

 

[liprippinrobbie]

Thanks! Goop as in two part epoxy? I read flex seal might also work

 

[jbcurt00]

Neither flexseal nor bedliner are a fix

 

[Moserkr]

I wouldnt use flexseal, bedliner, or a 2-part epoxy for a temporary blind rivet fix. 5200 is your best bet and you will need it anyway in the future for a proper fix. Goop works but comes off easier and is a one-part sealant.

Just remember that solid rivets are structural, so using a blind one in place of a solid places more stress on the other rivets. I ran my boat with a bunch of temporary blind rivets plus sealant for a summer before its restoration.

But I probably ended up taking out even more rivets from the added stress. One day a rivet lost its head and the tail went into the boat. That little hole filled my boat up over the floor boards with water before I noticed I was sinking. Luckily I have an 800 gph bilge pump and was able to get back to the dock fast. Lesson learned. If you’re worried about being on the water at all from leaking rivets, then fix them properly cause if they break out, water comes in fast.

 

[liprippinrobbie]

I wouldnt use flexseal, bedliner, or a 2-part epoxy for a temporary blind rivet fix. 5200 is your best bet and you will need it anyway in the future for a proper fix. Goop works but comes off easier and is a one-part sealant.

Just remember that solid rivets are structural, so using a blind one in place of a solid places more stress on the other rivets. I ran my boat with a bunch of temporary blind rivets plus sealant for a summer before its restoration.

But I probably ended up taking out even more rivets from the added stress. One day a rivet lost its head and the tail went into the boat. That little hole filled my boat up over the floor boards with water before I noticed I was sinking. Luckily I have an 800 gph bilge pump and was able to get back to the dock fast. Lesson learned. If you’re worried about being on the water at all from leaking rivets, then fix them properly cause if they break out, water comes in fast.

Well I wasn't worried until that story. I read that lots of older boat have little leaks but I sure don't want to pop a rivet! I'll have to really patch this up. There is no accessing it unless I tear apart the floorboards.

 

[Moserkr]

Watching the bilge pump run for minutes at full blast was something to see. But I put a blind rivet with sealant in that hole and used it a few more times that summer. Im on a medium sized lake though, never more than a minute from any shoreline. If I had an automatic bilge installed I would have known there was an issue. The story is a warning for sure, but it depends on your situation. I wanted to try the boat out for a summer before I committed to fixing it right. Calculated risk at the lake I frequent. Still almost sunk but that lost rivet hole took 2-3 hours to fill the boat to the floorboards.

 

[liprippinrobbie]

So other than the river leak which is pretty small I must have a larger leak elsewhere. I accumulate approximately 5 gal of water an hr. If my pump didn't run I'd be in trouble. I filled the boat with water but can't seem to find this leak. Must be higher up

 

[Moserkr]

Thats a lot of water to be taking on. Definitely more than just one or two rivets leaking. Prior to my resto and temporarily taking out bad solids for blinds, I was taking on that amount of water with 40+ bad rivets. My boat had hit a log and one side basically broke half of its rivets due to the impact. The temporary blind rivets and sealant actually got the leaking down to a manageable 1 gallon a day.

My first thought for you is the bolts that hold the motor on, may not be sealed well. If the boat sits on bunks, maybe the bunks are pinching the leaking spot when you fill her with water to test. Or you may have a lot more bad rivets than you think, but if that were true, you would think the leak test would show something. Some of the bad ones I had looked good but the heads popped off easy because they were compromised. Hence the sinking story earlier…

But honestly at this point, with that bad of a leak, its safe to say she needs to come apart. You just trying to get a summer of fun before fixing it right? I understand that cause I did it.

 

[liprippinrobbie]

I appreciate all your information by the way. I literally just inherited it back in June from my cousin so I hope to just get out and fish with it a bit. I just worry if my pump was to fail I would be screwed. I wonder what it would cost if I took it in the fix the leaks. Also that damage of pulling it apart. So much for a free boat lol

 

[Moserkr]

No boat is free and sometimes they are the most expensive. If the floors and transom are good, you could probably fix those leaks pretty quick by taking her apart minimally. Id keep trying to find the leak if you want to use it for the summer before an overhaul. Not great to put water in the boat on the trailer, but you can do that and raise/lower the trailer to move water from bow to stern. See if you can spot a drip. At 5/gal hour you have a substantial leak. I wouldnt bother taking it into a shop to be fixed. This is stuff you can easily do yourself with the forums help.

 

[junkman306]

Just bring a bucket and send it.