1979 18' Starcraft SuperSport Restoration

[mbroughton02]

Filling tons of holes in these gunwales. It's progress, though.

 

[mbroughton02]

Question- I have several holes to fill in this corner piece (not sure of the proper name):

Looking through other restores, it looks like almost nobody paints this piece, or the rub rail piece. I wasn't planning to paint them, either. What have others used to fill holes in this that looks good? The marine tex is much darker. JB weld is white. Ideas?

 

[Watermann]

I decided to paint that inner trim on my SS, gunnels are gray and the trim is black.

 

[mbroughton02]

I decided to paint that inner trim on my SS, gunnels are gray and the trim is black.

I'll probably have to do something like that. No way these will look good as bare aluminum anymore. Thanks for all your advice so far, by the way.

I hear you guys like pictures of Gluvit drying...

 

[BWR1953]

...I hear you guys like pictures of Gluvit drying...

Aww, yeahhh! :thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Ah yeah the aroma is mesmerizing to those who are addicted to leak free tin.

 

[GA_Boater]

Is it dry? The pic isn't a good one. LOL

 

[dozerII]

AHHHHH the smell of fresh dog poo in the morning

 

[mbroughton02]

Ok so I leak tested the boat yesterday. Unfortunately it still drips pretty consistently from two rivets in the area of the repaired keel damage. I do not see any damage on the inside of the hull, unless it's directly under a rib.

So my thought is to drill out those rivets, install new ones, and reseal them but with 5200 this time, since I don't have any Gluvit left. Unless someone here has a better idea...

Video below, if it works:

 

[Watermann]

Yeah those dripping rivets are at the rib, you can see the row of rivets. The rivets leaking under a rib can't be repaired with gluvit. I would do as you suggest and remove the leakers replacing them buttered up with 5200..

 

[bunnymoney]

Hi mb,
I'm pretty new here so my opinion carries a lot less weight.
Since there is no actual seam on the bottom of the boat except at the bow the drips could be coming from any of the rivets on the full length of the keel.
I would suggest an actual leak test in a pond or such. This way you could determine which particular area was leaking.
In an earlier picture there were 2 rivets missing but did not appear to be in line with the others?
Any idea what that was about?

 

[Pusher]

I like Bunny Money's idea. Can you strap it to the trailer and just leave it hooked up in the launch? You couldn't put it in all the way with the supperts missing but it would probably help.

I'm also not a tinny.

If you have a friend that works at an airport, ask him if he has a bucking gun. Air hammers DO NOOOTTTT work, haha. Tried it for kicks N giggles.

 

[Pusher]

You might also be able to climb underneath and blow an air compressor on the plate to see where the water starts... Maybe?

 

[mbroughton02]

Success. I drilled out and replaced those two rivets, and sealed under the head of the new ones with 5200, and they no longer leak.

Taking the boat to the lake would have been a pretty miserable experience. Outside temp is only in the teens here, and the ice is starting to form. So I'm glad this worked.

Air hammers DO NOOOTTTT work, haha. Tried it for kicks N giggles.

I've had good luck with mine. I had over 100 rivets that were leaking and/or loose after the first leak test. I replaced a bunch and rebucked the rest with the air hammer. Then I put on gluvit. Out of 100+ leakers, only the two in the video above were still leaking. One I had replaced already, and one was one I didn't catch during the initial test. It's annoying that it took two attempts, but I am now leak-free.

 

[Pusher]

Wow. It's funny how one experience can be totally different than another. Maybe I tested on hardened aluminum rivets. They were NOT having it for sure!

I'm glad it worked for you. Maybe you had softer rivets???

That's good for others to know, either way. A 3x bucking gun, while awesome, is $250 new. An air gun is $20 at a pawn shop, haha.

Nice work.

 

[mbroughton02]

Yeah who knows. Might have to do with the rivets. Or the air hammer. Or the PSI. Or the rivet set I bought for it. Or.... maybe I just have the magic touch! :lol:

 

[Watermann]

I use an air hammer too with the pressure turned down, mine likes about 45 - 50 PSI. The main thing is to have the correct rivets set in the hammer for the rivets you're using.

 

[Pusher]

That would make sense.. I think. The high pressure/speed impact would result in low impact(recoil) and high heat which would harden the rivet.... Total WAG actually.

 

[Watermann]

I use 2117 T4 alloy brazier head solids in all the structural repairs, Pure AL 1100 rivets are too soft.

 

[Pusher]

Man, wish I could save that for the future. Guess I'll just ask you if I ever go tinny. gotta love the forum

Do you always do gluvit with new rivets or do you do it after the rivet's been bucked?