Finding and sealing leaks in 14' Polar Kraft jon boat???

I recently bought a nice older Polarkraft, wide, deep and stable. I took it out today for the first time on a local lake. It went really nice and is as stable as I had hoped, letting me stand up and cast with no problem. The boat did take on too much water for comfort. I think the transom plug could fit snugger, so I'll take care of that. However, there must be other leaks (or leak) too. How do I find them and when I do, how do I best seal them? Thanks forum folks!

You can put the noat on some saw horses and start adding water, then see where it leaks, rebuck the rivets and your good. I am seriously considering using a product called gluv it to seal my tracker from the inside since I will have floors over it.

I have found my leak and it is just one. there is a split in the aluminum where the side meets the bottom and the water bubbles in. I am planning to get epoxy into the breach, let it dry, then epoxy the surface and let it dry and sand it. How does that seem?

Putting putty in a crack usually does not work. But if that is your only option I would take a small drill bit and drill the end of the crack on both ends to keep the crack from getting bigger. Cracks are usually formed from a flexing problem. But if the crack is drilled on both ends and then epoxy applied on both sides it might last a while. If you have the option I would get the crack welded (after drilling both ends of the crack) This would give it the best chance of not happening again.

I have filled my boat up with water twice now trying to find my leak and nothing. Filled with water I don't have a drip of water, but on the lake it takes on water...I'll figure it out one day. I might not be adding enough water so the plug is in the boat and just waiting on the rain. I plan on getting more water in the boat than before and see if the leak is on the side of the boat.

Be careful putting your boat on saw horses.It doesn't support your boat like a trailer.Your better off keeping it on your trailer to check for leaks.

We successfully sealed the leak! We jammed epoxy into the hole, let it dry and sanded it. Then we did the same on the bottom where the hole came out. When it was dry and sanded there, I cleaned the bottom and applied a product called "Gluvit" which is a marine epoxy application on the entire bottom. I was on the water today and the boat stayed dry. Unfortunately it rained!! Thanks for the suggestions.