baffled by my boat
 

i have an older 12' boat and it has a minor leak on some of the rivets along the keel and the seam in the back of the boat . what are some methods of stopping/sealing the leaks?

RE: baffled by my boat
 

Silicone sealent will hold up for a little while. For a more perminant solution, I would look into having the "leak zone" welded by someone that has a good bit of experience with aluminum.

RE: baffled by my boat
 

You can drill out the rivets and put in slightly larger rivets. If the rivets are holding the seam that is leaking , you can also clean and reseal the seam at this time.

RE: baffled by my boat
 

I have had good luck with aluminum putty sticks.

RE: baffled by my boat
 

where would i get something like aluminum putty sticks

RE: baffled by my boat
 

I had a similar problem with an aluminum 16 foot flatbottom. My buddy and I pounded each and every rivet together on the entire boat. 1 person take a hammer and pound the head side of the rivet as the other person presses something firmly against the other ended of it. This will draw the rivet back together. My flatbottom was leaking like crazy and after we spent hours doing this, it was incredible how much it helped. It wasn't perfect, but it was 90% better.
After we put it back in the water, we realized it was still leaking. Put it back on the trailer, filled it with water and got underneath to see what rivets were still dripping. We tried to pound them together again. Some would take, some wouldn't. The ones that didn't we put some liquid steel over them. The thing is dry as a bone today.

RE: baffled by my boat
 

where would you get liquid steel?

RE: baffled by my boat
 

doesnt any body know where to get this stuff to fix the leak[:@]

RE: baffled by my boat
 

"JB Weld" is at Wal mart or any auto store.

RE: baffled by my boat
 

thanks anybody else know where to get it
[&:]

RE: baffled by my boat
 

Hey rednex90,

Try silicon sealant, JB weld, or Marinetex - sold at marine stores, hardware stores, wally wal mart.

I would do exactly what NY Bowhunter suggests and follow up with a high quality exterior grade silicone or Marine Tex. Sand the area leaking and apply the sealant/epoxy to the exterior not the interior of leak. Good Luck