Cracks!

I leak tested my boat today and found two cracks in the aluminum hull. Can these be fixed with a with Gluvit or is there a way to fix them by welding, patching,...?

Thanks.

If it were mine I would have that welded

Yeah, welded.

What kind of a boat is this? Has it been modified?

It's a 1980s Alumacraft Backtroller 17. It hasn't been modified, but it has a few dings. I've pulled everything out of it (storage boxes, live well, decking, transom, etc.) and I'm rebuilding it. I found four cracks in three ribs (they'll get braced and welded today). I found the cracks in the hull yesterday during the leak test (but only 4 leaking rivets!).

I'm thinking about modifying it by leaving out the boxes and live well so that I'll have more deck space. But after finding these cracks, I'm worried that without the boxes tying the boat together along the hull and across the boat through the decking, the hull may flex more, and I'll fatigue the metal and get even more cracks. What do you guys think?

Thanks again for the help.

I would have it welded, but I'd also have a patch welded over the area to reinforce the repair. As far as removed seats, take a look at what/how they supported and make replacement support and you should be good to go.

I am a huge fan of welding, and I agree that would be the best fix.

However, its not always an option. Removing the rivet, cleaning the area really well, applying JB Weld (inside and outside), and putting a SS bolt through the hole before the Weld dries would work just fine.

I had a similar crack, but much larger. We found it while in Canada on a trip and fixed it using JB Weld and some wire mesh. It wasn't pretty, but it was quick, easy, cheap, and worked just fine.

best way to stop a crack, is drill a hole at each end of it as well, whether welding or patching, a 1/8" hole is all that is needed, it has to have the end of the crack in the hole tho to work properly.

Bugpac said:

best way to stop a crack, is drill a hole at each end of it as well, whether welding or patching, a 1/8" hole is all that is needed, it has to have the end of the crack in the hole tho to work properly.

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^^^ yes, very important