Sealing a boat

[Steve73]

Hi All,
I have an older flat bottom welded aluminum boat that I purchased. There is a good number of dings on the bottom and it has a few "sweat" leaks. Nothing major. I have sealed up a few with Aluminum epoxy but there must still be a few microscopic leaks I can't see.
Is there a product I can coat the interior bottom of the boat with, such as a truck bed liner or other product? Or has anyone had to deal with something like this in the past and had a good solution?
Thanks for any input!

 

[5150abf]

Re: Sealing a boat

Gluvit is a really good sealer that is well thought of here BUT, you should find the leaks and rebuck the rivets first, any type of epoxy or sealer is a band aid fix and will eventually leak again but now you have goop on top of it so it is harder to fix now.(My opinion)

A rivet is essentially a bolt or fastener, you wouldn't epoxy a loose bolt would you.

Generally to find a leak in a jon get it on saw horses and get 1''-2'' of water in and mark all the leaks you find, if they are form a rivet you get a helper and have them hold a steel hammer on the outside of the boat and you whack that rivet from the inside once or twice and ti shoul dreseal the leak.

If you do this remember, water is very heavy so be careful how much you get in it, it doesn't take but 1''-2''.

 

[sccatfish]

Re: Sealing a boat

Yeah, I wouldn't try to seal the inside to fix leaks. Would you seal the underside of you roof to fix a leak? If it is leaking at rivets, you can do as described above. If it's cracked, the only permanent fix is to get it welded. You can seal them and get by, but that's really only a temporary fix. Either way start by putting water in the boat to see where it leaks out.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Sealing a boat

... get it on saw horses and get 1''-2'' of water in and mark all the leaks you find,... remember, water is very heavy so be careful how much you get in it, it doesn't take but 1''-2''...

Another method is to power wash it. the water pressure will make any leaks show.
Don't get too aggressive with the washer. Stay back at least a foot.

When you're done the boat will have no leaks and be clean to boot!

 

[Steve73]

Re: Sealing a boat

Thanks for the tips Guys! Being a older flat bottom welded river boat there are many dings and scrapes. I will see what I can find. Thanks again. Steve

 

[5150abf]

Re: Sealing a boat

OH, not gonna buck a weld are ya.

Now that we know that, if it is an actual hole in the aluminum I would use JB Weld on, scuff it up really well and just get a little on and it will last forever.

I fixxed a crack in lower once and it never leaked in the 2 years i had it.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Sealing a boat

If your boat has a trailer, leave the boat on the trailer and fill with about 3 or 4" of water and watch the outside for leaks.

Or you can scrub the bottom of the hull with a Scotchbrite pad and dish detergent and then skim the whole bottom of the boat with JB weld or a marine epoxy filling in all the dents and dings and sealing any leaks.

Since your boat is welded instead of riveted I'd give the welds below the waterline a very close inspection, welded hulls are notorious for cracking at the welds.