Sealing aluminum boat hull without flipping??

I need to seal the bottom of my aluminum jetjon boat without flipping it over. I have a 16' jon boat that has a jetski engine installed in it and I do not want to tip it over to seal the hull. I can get the boat up onto 4x4 cradles but I cant flip the boat without pulling the heavy inboard engine, anybody know a product that I can roll on upside down?? Apparently steelfex and gluvit needs to be applied on flat horizontal surface according to all the reports I have read. And yes I should have thought of this prior to installing the engine but I was excited for fishing season and wanted to hit the water first (oops). I sealed each rivet with 5200 but I have some other small leaks and the boat will take on about a gallon or 2 over the course of a day out fishing. If I can minimize this I will be happy and also provide a slicker surface for getting boat on and off the trailer.


Any help is greatly appreciated!!! 8)

Bill

Gluvit is designed to be used on the inside of the hull to seal leaks so if you can get to the inside of the hull you can use it. Not sure of a leak sealing product that can go on the outside upside down. I have seen some paint/coatings to make the bottom slick that you can put on upside down(gator glide comes to mind).

Thanks for the gluvit tip, but the inside is covered up with flooring etc. I was thinking about a 2 part epoxy paint that I can roll on from under the boat, would love to use steelflex but dont think it will work due to gravity...

Although on a totally different scale, the concept is the same.

I did my 1648 this way a few years ago - - - it takes 3 people
to get it set up SAFELY on blocks and jacks.
Set up 2x4 braces on the sides, remove jacks from one side of the
bottom, patch leaks, paint bottom.
24 hours later, put blocks and jacks back and do the other side.

When I was 19 years old, I helped dry dock a US Navy Destroyer
to paint the bottom - WHAT A MESS !!! LOL so to me, a measley 16 footer is ice cream.

I agree with the two-part epoxy paint vs the other stuff. More user friendly (IMO)

Remember - THREE guys to do this !!!
try it by yourself and you could be calling two guys anyway to help you get if off the ground LOL LOL

I picked p gator glide for mine their video shoes them rolling an airboat from underneath. that wasn't why I chose it. the reason I chose it was everyone I talked to about it warned me not to unhook from bow wench before entering the water or the boat would unload it self on the ramp. it has been raining and humid so I haven't actually applied it yet but mine is flipped over anyway.

frydaddy said:

I picked p gator glide for mine their video shoes them rolling an airboat from underneath. that wasn't why I chose it. the reason I chose it was everyone I talked to about it warned me not to unhook from bow wench before entering the water or the boat would unload it self on the ramp. it has been raining and humid so I haven't actually applied it yet but mine is flipped over anyway.

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I saw that stuff, looks nice! I have also been looking at another product called wetlander that pretty much does the same thing as gator glide. The only problem with those coating is that they are not specifically designed for sealing rivets, however I was thinking about using 5200 around each rivet, letting it dry then coating with one of those paints, according to wetlanders website it will stick really well to 3m 5200, this may kill 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak, I seal up the rivets and make the boat MUCh easier to load and unload and boost on water performance...hmmmmm....I think this might be the answer :idea: !!

I'd be interested to see how well this works. I'm in the same boat, got a mediocre sized leak coming from the fiberglass portion of my jetski jon

You could take it to a Line-X dealer and have them shoot the bottom with marine-grade Line X (I think it's called XS350) That's what I'm having done to mine. Same situation, inboard engine, as well as console, so, I can't flip it over.

When I re-did my garage, I put in a beam that sits above the rafters and on each side wall. Then, between the 2 rafters in the middle is a 4x4 and that is bolted to the beam above. Then, large eye bolts are bolted all the way through the 4x4 and 4x4 x 15 foot beam with a plate above. A 1-ton chain hoist is then hooked to the eye bolt. I've hung 18 foot boats rated for 200 hp from my ceiling in the garage. I do leave the trailer underneath, just in case. And then I slide in underneath the trailer. Tight fit, but works slick. AND I can do it by myself.

gator glide scratches off I used to have it its not gonna seal your boat. But it is good slick bottom do not unhook your boat until your ready for it to go off your trailer I had my boat end up on the road before.

ericman said:

When I re-did my garage, I put in a beam that sits above the rafters and on each side wall. Then, between the 2 rafters in the middle is a 4x4 and that is bolted to the beam above. Then, large eye bolts are bolted all the way through the 4x4 and 4x4 x 15 foot beam with a plate above. A 1-ton chain hoist is then hooked to the eye bolt. I've hung 18 foot boats rated for 200 hp from my ceiling in the garage. I do leave the trailer underneath, just in case. And then I slide in underneath the trailer. Tight fit, but works slick. AND I can do it by myself.

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At some point I plan to build a lift in my garage. Since I'm never lifting more than about 1 ton, I figure on using 3" x 3/16" square tube for the upright colums, and the cross members that span about 10 ft. Then a longitudinal piece to go between the cross members, so I can install a trolley system of some type. It would make working on my boat a lot easier.