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My neighbor's 24 footer had the port pontoon damaged in a storm. The front of the pontoon was torn open. The opening is say 12" long and 1/2" wide. Can this be welded shut, maybe by welding on a piece of aluminum angle iron?
Aluminum us very tricky to weld and because there are many different types of aluminum that adds more dufficulty because you need to know what type of aluminum your welding. Have a friend that is a highly skilled welder, especially with aluminum. That won't be a job for a hobby welder, it will take someone with skills and the correct equipment. In my area, radiator shops often have people skilled in aluminum welding, worth looking into anyway.
I agree. You will want someone very proficient welding aluminum. I can weld a lot of stuff and have welded aluminum but I would not attempt a repair on a tube because my success rate with aluminum is about 50%.
Ask your local boat dealer/repair shop if they have someone they use. That’s how I found the guy I used. Be warned, some shops don’t like to share that information so they can collect money for coordinating the repair if they don’t have a welder in house.
just keep in mind that the tube is not normally flat, so if you have to get some proper type and thickness aluminum to lay on it to weld up, it will need to be bent to the same curvature to lay against the tube.
I do not see how a piece of aluminum angle would be able to do that
