Looks like aluminum boat sealed seam with silicon... what are my options?

[jimmwaller]

Hi, I recently inherited an old 60's-ish aeroline 14 footer. At some point (not sure when), a bow seam was sealed with silicon and then duct taped over. I just took off the duct tape and found the silicon, but it didn't seem to leak much if at all.

I don't know why the silicon was even there... it runs right up the middle seam. It looks like this boat had the bow cover removed at some point, maybe the pressure of not having whatever structural support the bow cover provided was enough to cause leaking at this seam?

In any event, I now have some silicon there. I'm planning to reinforce the bow area with some aluminum bar and build a small platform up there that will also act as structural support. But this silicon worries me. I want to either pull out the silicon and put something better in there, OR put something more permanent over the silicon (i.e. not duct tape). Is there something good to put in place of the silicon? I think this seam is too wide for gluvit. What about some other epoxy of some kind?

Barring that, is there something I can put over the silicon just for peace of mind? I was think JB weld, but the seam is like 4-5 feet long so that's a LOT of JB weld. What about like fiberglass or something? Some other epoxy-type thing?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Photos attached.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would skip JB weld, or anything else like that, dig out the sillycone and have it tig welded for about $50

 

[jimmwaller]

Hi-
Thanks. I've read on here and elsewhere that tig welding is kind of a last-resort option because the welding weakens the surrounding metal... is this true? Since it's not leaking now, i'd hate to weaken it for no reason if that's a possibility

Also, I live in a big city and most if not all welders around here have like $300 minimums :/

 

[Scott Danforth]

if your boat was made of anything with a higher alloy content, then I would worry about the heat affected zone. however for a 60 year old boat, you will soon be chasing stress cracks left and right.

go to your local radiator shop. you would be surprised how little they actually charge for welding.

 

[64osby]

If the hull is riveted - rebuck or replace bad rivets. Use Gluvit or Coat It to seal the seams then rebuild the interior.

If the hull was welded then weld it.

 

[jimmwaller]

hull was riveted. should I rebuck then? or is welding a more permanent option? thanks

 

[64osby]

If the hull is riveted - rebuck or replace bad rivets. Use Gluvit or Coat It to seal the seams

>>>

 

[Ned L]

I'm just going to mention that it could be real tough to replace the silicon with much of anything and get it to adhere. It can be difficult to get the old silicon completely cleaned off so something else can stick.
If it doesn't leak what else do you need?

 

[Watermann]

I agree with osby. To do the repair the right way is to remove the silicone. It contains acid that reacts with aluminum and is not a permanent fix at all. Silicone does not stick to aluminum so I don't why it would be difficult to remove. The stuff I've removed just peels right off and whats left in the cracks can be picked out.. The keel and seams of these old aluminum boats have material in between the sections to seal them. Inspect any of the rivets and if loose rebuck or replace if they're damaged. Look closely for any cracks in the keel plate as it takes the brint of every landing the bat has ever made. As stated before then use gluvit epoxy to seal the seams up water tight..

Just say no to welding riveted boats...

 

[Scott Danforth]

from the very grainy pictures it does not look like a re-buck repair, however more like the formed keel seam has split. no amount of rebucking will ever fix fatigued material.

however if the leak is comming from the riveted lap joint, then yes, the proper repair would be to rebuck the rivets. however the placement of the sillycone and the picture look more like needing a weld repair.