Any suggestions for this repair?

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Vbsurfer85

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Picked the boat up for $150.00 but as you can see it's got quite a gash in it. Aside from welding it, is there any other fix? I tried to search the forum but I'm new around here. Thanks in advance for your help!

zn0gib.jpg
 
Pound all the dented/torn metal so it is flat again. Take a square of sheet aluminum bend it to fit around the corner of the hull and drill 3/16" holes every 5/8" in a staggered pattern around the outside of the square of sheet aluminum and every 2 inches or so through the center of your sheet. Put your "patch" in place, line up a hole and drill through hull 6 place (3 on side and 3 on bottom of boat). Temporarily mount with 10-24 screws and nuts. Drill all the rest of your holes through the hull. Remove patch. Apply an adhesive of your choice (silicone, liquid nails, jb-weld) to the hull side of the patch. Re-attach with screws and nuts in 6 places. Using 3/16" x 1/2" long solid aluminum rivets, start bucking rivets to squeeze patch into place. Adhesive should squeeze out a bit around most of the perimeter. This is where I prefer jb-weld (NOT JB-Quik) it will squeeze out a bit and you can smooth it out with a finger inside a plastic bag and when it dries you can paint it. You can't paint silicone very effectively.

That is how I would fix it.
 
I would definitely have that welded. I would not recommend JB weld for something like that. Those are more like temporary fixes. Welding it is a permanent fix. Somewhere down the line, unless you sold the boat, you would regret not doing it the right way the first time.
 
ericman said:
Pound all the dented/torn metal so it is flat again. Take a square of sheet aluminum bend it to fit around the corner of the hull and drill 3/16" holes every 5/8" in a staggered pattern around the outside of the square of sheet aluminum and every 2 inches or so through the center of your sheet. Put your "patch" in place, line up a hole and drill through hull 6 place (3 on side and 3 on bottom of boat). Temporarily mount with 10-24 screws and nuts. Drill all the rest of your holes through the hull. Remove patch. Apply an adhesive of your choice (silicone, liquid nails, jb-weld) to the hull side of the patch. Re-attach with screws and nuts in 6 places. Using 3/16" x 1/2" long solid aluminum rivets, start bucking rivets to squeeze patch into place. Adhesive should squeeze out a bit around most of the perimeter. This is where I prefer jb-weld (NOT JB-Quik) it will squeeze out a bit and you can smooth it out with a finger inside a plastic bag and when it dries you can paint it. You can't paint silicone very effectively.

That is how I would fix it.
Click to expand...
Other than you should never use silicone on an aluminum boat. You should butter the patch with 3m5200 and apply self etching primer the patch and to any bare aluminum on the hull.
But the best repair for that damage is to have it welded.
 
Considering that it is your life we are talking about....weld it.

When a boat leaks or gives us trouble, we can't pull over to the side of the road and stick our finger out, like we can on a highway.

richg99

p.s. I many years of boating, I've had the crap scared out of me three or four times. That gives you religion, quickly.
 
When a welder charges $75 automatically, can someone explain why welding is the better fix? I've used sheet aluminum with solid aluminum rivets as patches for years on all my own boats AND my customer's boats and NONE of those patches have ever leaked.
 
ericman said:
When a welder charges $75 automatically, can someone explain why welding is the better fix? I've used sheet aluminum with solid aluminum rivets as patches for years on all my own boats AND my customer's boats and NONE of those patches have ever leaked.
Click to expand...

I don't see anything wrong with your repair, as long as the adhesives used are approved for underwater marine usage.

I think its just as easy to mess up a weld. maybe easier if the person doing it is not an expert at this type of repair.

I think both are valid methods when done correctly
 
Thanks for all your help guys! I look forward to contributing and sharing fishing/boat stuff with you all in the future! Do you think I could weld it using a Bernzomatic from Home Depot? They seem to work pretty well. The pic doesn't show it to well but the area needed to be welded is maybe 6" total in length. Thanks again!
 
Vbsurfer85 said:
Thanks for all your help guys! I look forward to contributing and sharing fishing/boat stuff with you all in the future! Do you think I could weld it using a Bernzomatic from Home Depot? They seem to work pretty well. The pic doesn't show it to well but the area needed to be welded is maybe 6" total in length. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

no.

have it done by a pro if you are going to go the welding route. You cant weld it with a propane or mapp torch
 
ericman said:
When a welder charges $75 automatically, can someone explain why welding is the better fix? I've used sheet aluminum with solid aluminum rivets as patches for years on all my own boats AND my customer's boats and NONE of those patches have ever leaked.
Click to expand...

You probably have the materials needed on hand since you done it before. By the time he finds rivets, buys sealant, and any other tools needed, driving around town...he's spent over $75 for a jacklegged patch that could start leaking in 6 months. Plus, if he ever wants to get rid of the boat he won't have to explain the patch. Don't know about you but a patch doesn't inspire confidence in me.
 
As a welder wouldn't do it any other way then welding it, what I see in the pic is that the crack/tear is longer than the pic ,,, pic looks like someone has tried glueing with something, looks to have a bunch of crud down in the crack that will need to be removed before welding and by looking at it it may not be possible,, to me think a patch to cover the whole mess would be the best way of doing it,,,, get it all cleaned up and ready to weld and a piece of aluminum in hand cut to the shape required for the patch, in our shop cant see charging more then 50 bucks






p
 
richg99 said:
p.s. I many years of boating, I've had the crap scared out of me three or four times. That gives you religion, quickly.
Click to expand...

As Gordon Lightfoot sang, "Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
 
Welding and patching are both viable options. If it were my boat, I'd patch it because, yes, I do have the stuff to do it. And welders around here don't work for free. Being that the crack is in a corner and is as big as it is and the hull is probably as thin as it is (.063" or less), a welder might not be 100% confident that even a good weld will hold up. A patch is a mechanical fix, NOT an adhesive fix. It's the rivets that hold the patch in place. A patch bent to fit the contour of the boat and riveted to the boat, either on the outside or the inside (if nothing is in the way) and with a sealant between the patch and the hull (ALL riveted boats have some sort of gasket material at the overlap), the patched area will never leak again, so don't say the patch will fail in 6 months. Just ask any of my customers. I've done patches WITHOUT sealant before as well, but that usually requires a flatter surface and painting over it finishes it.

So, don't limit this guys options.
 

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