*LEAKY JON BOAT HELP MY FEET STAY DRY!***

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lukelona

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Location
newport news va
MY JON IS LEAKIN PRETTY GOOD. I GET ABOUT 6 IN OF WATER IN THE BACK.
I SEALED IT WITH FLEXIBL SLICONE FAST DRYING.
NEXT TIME OUT LEAKED WORSE THEN BEFORE.
SEALANT IS PEELING OFF LEAVING GAP BETWEEN METALS.
WHAT IS A CHEAP WAY TO SEAL THIS WITHOUT LEAKS
AND NOT CAUSING DRAG.?

HERE IS PICS AT THESE LINKS

https://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/LUKELONA/010.jpg]
https://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/LUKELONA/009.jpg]
https://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/LUKELONA/008.jpg]
https://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/LUKELONA/018.jpg
https://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/LUKELONA/020.jpg
 
First thing you need to do is find the source of the leaks. Most likely loose rivots. Just put several inches of water in the boat and climb underneath and the leaky rivots will be obvious. Mark the leaky ones to be rebucked or replaced.

There is no sealant that is a quick fix that I am aware of. If you dont fix the problem, you are just putting a bandaid on it and it will be harder to fix when they reappear. My suggestion is to fix the rivots that are leaking and then Steelflex it.

If you try to Steelflex without fixing the loose rivots, my understanding is, it will still fail. Steelflex is tough stuff too. If it wont work, I dont think anything will.
 
where do i buy it at? never heard of it until a week ago.also how do i replace the rivets? you think it will be tight enough to not leak?
 
Links aren't working for me. Is it leaky rivets or do you have other problems? Without knowing more details here is a couple of thoughts:

  • Fill the boat up with water and look underneath to identify leaks.
  • If you have cracks, find a welder to weld them. Permanent fix.
 
cabelas makes this stuff that looks like a hot melt glue stick but its greenish in color just find out which rivet that is leaking and use a propane torch to heat it up smear it on there, looks like hell but i have yet to have one leak again :)
 
This is the only place to get Steelflex...

https://fascoepoxies.com/

Check out the "Everything Steelflex" thread at the top of the page for more info. Again, Steelflex is not a fix. You need to identify the problem and fix it then Steelflex to protect it from futrure damage.
 
is cabelas a store or online only?
also whe ifilled with water it was hard to tell exactly what was leaking
just beaded up in center
 
cabelas is both check it out, it sounds like you may have a crack in it i would do some investigating before throwing stuff at it.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Aluminum-Boat-Patch/699968.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Daluminum%2Bpatch&Ntt=aluminum+patch

heres what im talkin about
 
lukelona said:
MY JON IS LEAKIN PRETTY GOOD. I GET ABOUT 6 IN OF WATER IN THE BACK.
I SEALED IT WITH FLEXIBL SLICONE FAST DRYING.
NEXT TIME OUT LEAKED WORSE THEN BEFORE.
SEALANT IS PEELING OFF LEAVING GAP BETWEEN METALS.
WHAT IS A CHEAP WAY TO SEAL THIS WITHOUT LEAKS
AND NOT CAUSING DRAG.?
https://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/LUKELONA/020.jpg

You've got yourself a little project there luke. It's going to require some time and elbow grease.

The first thing you need to do is take everything out of and off of your boat (motor, gas tank, seats...) then take it off the trailer and turn it upsidedown and remove all that crappy paint and sealant, every bit of it! Then you can see what you have to work with, it looks to me like your keel is probably leaking (the rib that runs down the center of the boat on the outside) and you need to replace the rivets in it. You'll be able to tell more about it when you get that junk removed.

As you've seen for yourself cheap, easy, and quick like slapping some paint or some goo on a riveted tin aint gonna stop it from leaking.

After you get it cleaned up take another pic and post it here so we can see what you actually have to work with.
 
The boat looks like it's in pretty good condition from the inside pics.

Sand all of that old paint off the the bottom and put the boat on a set of saw horses (or something that you can get under the boat easily).

You should be able to put some water inside the boat and find the leak fairly easily.
 
ok thanks for the input. ya i did not do the horrible paint job on bottom
boat is in great shape. no dents or holes.
so i guess my new plan is to re-rivet the keel. how should i do this?
regular rivets and hand gun ok?
do i drill out old rivets then replace with new.
will the leaks stop or still need to paint or seal it?
 
If you rivet the boat properly you won't need to paint of seal.

You will need to clean the paint and caulk off so you can see what you're doing and so the keel and hull will pull together properly. If you try to do it without cleaning it all off it won't work.

After you get it clean, turn it back over and fill it with water again to see if you can better pinpoint the leak.

The areas in red look highly suspect to me.

020paint.jpg


... and you may have to rerivet most of your keel to get it to pull back up tight... but lets wait and see what it looks like after you get it cleaned off and tested again.
 
sounds like a lot of work so imgona try a wire wheel on my drill.
i think it should clean it pretty good. i did notce a film betweem the keel an hull.
possibly a plastic like seal for betwen metal?

i will clean bottom and post pics.
anyone know what kind of rivets and gun should i use?
 
No gun, just rivets that look like mushrooms. You slide the stem through the hole and hit the stem with a hammer while holding a much heavier hammer against the head on the other side. Gonna be a real PITA without intellegent and patient help.

Jamie
 

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