strip paint, treat aluminum, and seal leaks

I finally took my 12' 1967 Sea King out for the first time after spending a month doing some basic work on her...transom and bench seat replacement. Everything went well! Man, it was so exciting taking my very first boat out...solo! I survived the launch and retrieval =D> . I even had the whole lake all to myself! My Minn Kota "The Fisherman" trolling motor worked out great. It's perfect for a small lake. I had great control with it mounted on the transom. I was pushing 3.5 mph! Unfortunately, my iphone conveniently ran out of memory for the first time #-o so I wasn't able to take many pictures or record many videos.

So, I do have a few minor leaks. A couple of the leaks appear to be coming from the seams on the ribs going across the bottom of the boat just in front of and behind the last bench seat. Also, some of the rivets on the inside and outside of the hull are leaking as well. Another leak appears to be coming from the corner on the starboard side where the hull and transom meet. As far as I can tell those are all of the leaks. I want to fix all of these leaks but I also want to strip the paint and restore the aluminum so I'm not sure how to go about doing this the correctly.

First, what is all of the stuff in between the seams and surrounding all of the rivets? Is that a sealant that is used on all aluminum boats? Is it something similar to 3M 5200? Should I strip the paint first along with all of the sealant (3M 5200)? If so, what is the most effective way of stripping the paint and sealant WITHOUT damaging the aluminum? I've read that stainless steel wheel brushes work well but they may remove pieces of the aluminum. I've also read that aircraft stripper is extremely effective but extremely caustic as well. Others have told me to use any paint remover. I don't have access to a sandblaster or power-washer so those are not an option. After I've stripped the paint and sealant how can I restore the aluminum without damaging it. What should I do after I strip the paint and remove all of the sealant around the seams and rivets? The seams and rivets will be better exposed so should I apply fresh 3M 5200 to ALL of the seams and rivets again? I'm new to all of this so I could really use some expertise.

Thanks.

Here are some pictures of the leaks and the "maiden voyage".

Wow, 42 people have read this post and not one person can offer a first time boat owner some advice?

Here's the proper procedure for correctly making the needed repairs.

Load the boat on the trailer and install the plug.

Fill the boat with a hose with enough water up to the water line.

Look under the boat and start marking your leaks with a magic marker.

If it's just rivets leaking, you can try rebucking them to tighten them up or simply replace them with the correct size solid rivets. They can only be compressed so far before they start distorting the hull material and elongating the hole. If they are already smashed completely flat, they are bucked to far already and should be drilled out and replaced.

If you have seams leaking you can coat them with an epoxy product like Gluvit, Coat It or Steel Flex. Follow directions. It's extremely simple and easy. If you do NOT follow the directions, it will most likely not seal properly and possibly not bond. Either of those can be installed from the inside, outside or both. I prefer outside so that it can seep in between the rivet head and the hull bonding the two together.

Water test again on the trailer.

If this is to much work for you, you can always just seal everything with some goopy sealant from the outside. It's cheap, quick, easy and works for a while. Heck, we used to smear roofing tar on the bottom of our boats to stop the leaks and kept a solo cup inside for bialing. We caught a lot of fish out of those old leaky boats and had a fantastic time doing so. I was almost 40 years old before I discovered that aluminum boats were not supposed to leak...who knew?

Enjoy your boat and go catch some fish!

Spotco gives good advice. I would add this:

spotco2 said:

If it's just rivets leaking, you can try rebucking them to tighten them up or simply replace them with the correct size solid rivets. They can only be compressed so far before they start distorting the hull material and elongating the hole. If they are already smashed completely flat, they are bucked to far already and should be drilled out and replaced.If you plan on keeping the boat at all, replacing the rivets is the much better option. It is NOT hard at all to replace the solid rivets, especially if you get a bucking bar, a set tool and use either a hammer (for a few) or a solid rivet gun (for a bunch). Even if you go for the rivet gun, you can get the one Harbor Freight sells for a hundred dollars with for set tools and a single bucking bar and be in business. Once you're done, you can opt to keep the gun for future repairs or sell it off and get most of your money back out of it.

If you have seams leaking you can coat them with an epoxy product like Gluvit, Coat It or Steel Flex. Follow directions. It's extremely simple and easy. If you do NOT follow the directions, it will most likely not seal properly and possibly not bond. Either of those can be installed from the inside, outside or both. I prefer outside so that it can seep in between the rivet head and the hull bonding the two together.Very good stuff, just remember it's two part, so get a couple mixing cups from a local auto paint store supplier (auto parts store may sell auto paint and supplies) so you don't have to mix and use the whole container at one time.

Water test again on the trailer.Nothing like quality control to prevent a disaster later.

If this is to much work for you, you can always just seal everything with some goopy sealant from the outside. It's cheap, quick, easy and works for a while. Heck, we used to smear roofing tar on the bottom of our boats to stop the leaks and kept a solo cup inside for bialing. We caught a lot of fish out of those old leaky boats and had a fantastic time doing so. I was almost 40 years old before I discovered that aluminum boats were not supposed to leak...who knew?And there you have it.

Enjoy your boat and go catch some fish!Ditto

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