Hit something, scratched and puctured aluminum hull

[SF14]

Got a leak in my just bought SF14L. I was out on the river the other day and hit something floating just below the surface, I heard it thump the bow while going about 15 mph, I cut the motor and heard it drag along the bottom. I floated over it, and it popped out behind the outboard after a bit. I couldn't tell what it was but it looked like a 2x4 that was floating down stream, it was gone behind me before I could get a look. I didn't think anything of it at the time, the noise wasn't enough to really concern me and I cut the motor fast enough that it never touched the prop. I fired the motor up and went on. We fished for another 3 or so hours and after a bit I noticed a bit of water accumulating in the boat, but not a lot. I just thought it was either rain water that may have gotten in over the past few weeks of storms or from fish being brought in the boat. I also had the live well full so it too was slopping over a bit. Anyhow, after putting it back on the trailer and dumping the live well at the ramp, I pulled up to tie the boat down and noticed a pretty steady trickle of water running off the right side.
I found a 20' long deep scratch, or more of a light dent from front to back about a foot below the water line, it runs the length of one pair of ribs. It looks like a mark a dull nail would make if you pushed hard enough to slightly indent the scratch. Where the scratch ends it gets deeper and punctures the aluminum just past the rivet holding a rib in place. The puncture or leak is inside the rib, where I can't get at it on the inside. Part of the head of the one rivet is chipped off as well. The water was running out of the end of the scratch.

Only the last inch of the gouge concerns me, the rest didn't even penetrate the paint. The one rivet will need replacing but what would be the best fix for the leak?
I'm thinking of sanding the area and using JB weld over the leak and banging in one rivet. To replace the rivet, I'll have to remove the floor and possibly half of the split bench seat which will mean more rivets on the side will need to be redone. I can't see how they got the one piece floor in place without the seats being out of the boat at the time?

I can get a few pics but it was too dark by the time I got home.

My concern is with JB Weld sticking permanently to the aluminum underwater? Will it adhere to bare aluminum or is there a better fix?
I thought about a weld but figured I'd end up fixing the pin hole but end up loosening more rivets nearby or warping the hull skin in that area.
If it wasn't within a rib I'd consider just drilling it out to 3/16" and banging a rivet in the hole but to access the other side the floor has to come out.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

If it were me id through a pop rivet goobered with 5200 and maybe a washer for good grip where that new lil hole is. For the rib, if it were bad enough and i didnt want to take the deck out for a solid rivet i would do the same minus the washer. But thats me.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Pictures of the end of the gash and the rivet in question would help before the right course of action can be recommended.

 

[SF14]

I've been trying for a while to get a decent camera to take a pic but no luck so far, I took one with a buddies tablet but the resolution was so bad you couldn't even see the scratch.
Basically the best way to describe it is picture the damage a sharp box cutter would do to aluminum, if dragged at a 45? leaving a sharp gouge that gets deeper and crossing a rivet near the end, where it punctures the hull with a hole shaped like the point of the blade about 1/6" in length and half as wide. I have little doubt that JB weld would seal up the leak but would it be permanent?
Should I sand out the scratch and fill it with JB weld as if it were body filler? The rivet isn't compromised structurally, its just missing a bit of the head on one side, sort of like a small pizza slice out that goes half way to the rivet's main shank.
Is there something better than JB weld for aluminum? I've got JB Weld and something called Aluminum Epoxy Putty by Devcon we used to use a work to fix castings. I know it'll take heat but I don't know about water and its not very easy to sand. I've also got Moroso epoxy sticks and CRC epoxy sticks, plus a can of Marine Tex white hull repair but I've always used that for fiberglass. I've never tried that on aluminum.
My concern comes from knowing how hard it is to get paint to adhere properly to aluminum. Should the area to be epoxied be primed in some way first to guaranty a permanent repair?
I just don't want to find myself a mile out one day and have a leak or worse yet, a crack open up where that gouge is. I would guess that about 4" of the gouge is half way though the aluminum skin, the rest is superficial. The leak lets in only a trickle of water now, but if that gouge turns into a crack, it would sink the boat or at the very least make it prove the value of its flotation foam.

 

[pckeen]

JB Weld is pretty good - a buddy of mine bought a boat and one year old motor nine years ago, and ran it for the last nine y ears. The motor just went on it. He took it into the mechanics, who asked him when he had JB Welded the Crack on the cylinder head....

Having said that, if this is a new boat, you might want to take it to a welder who will weld aluminum, and have it welded closed. If you don't do that, a better repair is to put on an aluminum patch, which is JB welded and riveted in place. If the hole is like a crack, you will want to drill both ends to prevent it from spreading. As for painting, you need to use an etching primer, followed by paint primer, followed by paint.

 

[SF14]

I sort of solved my problem today, I had put a dab of 3m 5200 over the leak for the time being and was using the boat this morning when I got to talking to an old guy also fishing out on the water. He was in an older super sized 16' Mirrocraft aluminum boat. His boat had a few of the seats broken loose from their mounts at the ends but otherwise looked great. We both ended up back at the ramp about the same time, he loaded up first, and was struggling to get the boat on the trailer by himself. I tied up and helped guide his boat onto his trailer. He then had trouble winching the boat up by hand. He pulled away to tie the boat down and I backed down the ramp and drove my boat right onto the trailer and pulled up the ramp.
While I was tying the boat down the same guy walked up and offered me a cold beer and said he really wished his boat was a 14' like mine since its so much easier to load. I told him I liked it better before it got the gouge on the one side. He took a look and said its no big deal, "looks fixed to me".
He then mentioned trading boats, his 16' with a 35hp remote Johnson for my 14' tiller steer which yesterday had an older Eska 9.9hp I had bought at a yard sale on it. I was basically giving that motor a test run before listing it for sale.
I gave his boat a good once over and the only issues I saw were that the seats need new wood installed.
I told the guy he could follow me home if he liked, bring his title. He did and we made the swap. His boat motor and trailer for my boat motor and trailer.
Although I really liked my SF14L, having the 16' boat will come in handy as well. Besides, I have my eye on a cleaner SF14 that's for sale not far from here in minty condition. We both went right to the DMV to switch title and registrations over. I offered to JB weld the scrape in my old boat but he's fine with the 5200 caulking repair.


I removed the one bench seat from the Mirrocraft tonight and cut away the foam and made a new 3/4" plywood panel for the one seat that was completely separated from the bracket, I also did the one half bench seat next to the console. I plan on doing the rest but they're not an immediate concern.

In the end, I've got a boat with a perfect hull again, no patches, no leaks, I have more room, more motor, and an all around nicer set up. He got a boat that's easier to launch and load. The Mirrocraft is older by 12 years but in great shape. There's not even a scratch or ding anywhere in the hull and I can get used to this electric start thing.

 

[BWR1953]

Sounds like a win/win deal to me. Congrats!