Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

[lipinski]

I recently purchased an 8yr old Princecraft Deckboat - this is an aluminum boat. When in the water, the bilge pump kicks on about every 15 min and pumps out what seems to be gallons of water (5-10 gal maybe?).

I took the boat to the marina, where they claimed that the shift bellows needed replacement, so they replaced the bellows and shift cable.

Got the boat back, and same thing - bilge pump kicking on every 15 min or so.

Marina came out to check the boat out. Pulled the boat from the water, and noticed water streaming out of 3 holes in the keel cap. These holes seem perfectly round, approx evenly spaced along the boat and all just slightly off center - seemingly drilled intentionally. According to the marina, these holes are probably intended to ensure water doesn't get stuck and freeze and crack the keel cap. Yet - they agree we shouldn't see water stream out of the holes when taking the boat out of the water. So, they claim I have another leak somewhere. They said they would have to start tearing the boat apart to find the leak and it will get very expensive very fast as far as labor to do that. So, they claimed I may want to consider investigating the leak on my own first.

The boat has what seems to be a cooler in the floor of the boat with a drain hole that goes into the bilge area. Once we had the boat out of the water for a while and the keel cap holes stopped dripping, we poured a gallon of water into the cooler and it came out of the holes in the keel cap within a few seconds.

I have started to remove some of the floorboards (no easy task in itself) to see if we can determine where the leak is. Not really having luck finding anything - there's a lot of spray foam under there.

Any suggestions, tips on how to find the leak?

Anyone heard of holes in the keel cap?
Do note - the boat is all welded aluminum, yet the keep cap is riveted on, so I would guess the "main" aluminum of the hull is welded together underneath the keel cap. The keel cap does not seem water tight - there are gaps in the seam where it meets the "main" aluminum of the hull.

Any help would be appreciated....

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

Welcome to the iBoats Dry Dock!

You're really gunna need to post some pics so the rest of the iBoaters can SEE what you are dealing with. It is almost impossible to visulaize your problem from the descriptions given. Like the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words!"

 

[lipinski]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

Guess the place I bought the boat tried to cover up a crack in the hull. They put some bondo-type stuff over the crack on the outside of the boat and then repainted half of the hull.

Hopefully this can be fixed... What's the proper way to repair a crack in the hull of an aluminum boat?

It's about 8" long, near the keel.

Here's some pics. Poor quality as they were taken with a cell phone:
http://jalbum.net/en/a/978623/

 

[tonk62]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

I would find someone in the area that is a reputable welder, and have that crack welded. did you try temporarely plugging the 3 holes to see if that slowed the water leak?

 

[lipinski]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

I would find someone in the area that is a reputable welder, and have that crack welded. did you try temporarely plugging the 3 holes to see if that slowed the water leak?

I am hesitant to put back in water. While removing the rubber keel protector, it pulled off quite a bit of the bondo (or whatever), so now I can see right through the crack.
Also, I'd rather let a professional fix it rather than me trying to mess with it any more. I think I'm just going to remove more seats, floorboards, and the built-in cooler so that the whole area can be seen from inside and out.

I see a lot of mention of weld vs don't weld on the forums, so I wasn't sure the best approach. A friend of mine is a mechanic at a car dealer and knows a few people that are professional welders and know how to do aluminum, so I'm hoping to talk to them this week. Is that a bad idea since this is a boat, and maybe boats are different than cars when it comes to that sort of thing... Or is welding aluminum the same no matter what it is?

Thanks for all the help, it's been a frustrating few weeks with this boat that was supposedly "Serviced and Ready for the Water".

(I plan on speaking with the dealer I bought the boat from, but since they are shady enough to have most likely done this, I'm guessing they'll be hiding behind their As-Is, no warranty nonsense) Wonder if it's worth legal action....

 

[sschefer]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

You're on the right track and I commend the Marina folks for their good advice. That doesn't happen all that often.

Now for the not so good news. Aluminum doesn't usually crack unless it is temeperd Aluminum 6000 and 7000 series. You rarely find a welded boat made from 6000 series aluminum and if you do, it will be a combination of welded and riveted like the Lowe's. The holes in the keel cap are there to drain the cap. It's instaled for one reason and that's to keep the boat on track. These can be riveted because it's less time consuming during production but they also have a tendancy to losen up the rivets after a few seasons of beaching. That'll cause a leak.

If there really is a crack in the Aluminum hull the odds of fixing it permanently are not real good. You might be able to do a sandwich patch but you need a hull repair specialist to look at it and make a decision. It may not be worth saving. Sorry, that's probably not what you wanted to hear but it's the truth and probably why the last owner sold it.

Not sure where you are located but if you're in California, the best shop around is Jetstream Concepts in Yuba City. Phil and Maggie Taylor run the show and Phil is a no BS, can work miracles, kind of guy. He fixed one of my boats when no one else would.

 

[rtek816]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

Did you purchase it from the marina? That tear looks a lot longer on the outside bondo fix. If it is only between two ribs it can be sandwich repaired and riveted (not easily but better you don't have to remove a rib).

 

[lipinski]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

I have contacted a few welders in the area and they claim they should be able to tig weld it.

According to the manufacturer's website, it's H36 aluminum. (I don't know what that means).

It is mostly between the ribs. It seems like the crack extends partly under one rib. I think the one picture was taken closer up and is a little deceiving. Plus, they seemed to have bondo-ed more than where the crack is. Not to mention the picture contains the glue/tape from the keel bumper.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

OK, I looked at the pics this time and that's a rock tear if I ever saw one, and I have. If it is 5052 or 5056 H36 Aluminum then it can be welded. I would remove all the old bondo and spend some time working it out as smooth and close to the original shape as possible. A buddy that can hold a bodymans dolly will be needed. You're probably going to have to grind the crack to get it to fit back together. When that rock ripped through it, the metal became extrududed, (stretched). DO NOT USE HEAT TO SOFTEN IT, YOU WILL TEMPER IT AND IT WILL CRACK.

Once you have it back together, form a backer plate for the inside or the outside that covers the length of the crack plus a couple of inches all around. You have to do this because the tear is at a high g-force location. If you don't, one good smack with a wave against already fatigued metal will open that new weld up like a zipper.

The backer plate should be welded all around and then the crack itself should be welded. The plate is probably going to end up on the outside of the hull so have your welder build out the weld so you have enough to fair in with a grinder.

You welder should already know this but the filler wire needs to be 5056. It's a little harder but will merge better with the silicon/magnesium in the 5000 series Al.

It's all in the prep work when you're welding Aluminum. If he insists on TIG that's fine as long as he runs 80/20 gas (argon/helium). You have to go in hot and get out quick or it will warp, shrink and tweak like nobody's business. If it was me I'd pulse MIG it with short 2" welds and turnbacks at the end to prevent crater cracks.

 

[lipinski]

Re: Leaking Princecraft Aluminum Deckboat

Steve,

Thanks so much for the info. It is greatly appreciated.

In all honesty, I'm an ignorant intermediary in all this welding stuff. I'm fairly handy, but when it comes to metal repair, I have no clue...

I will definitely pass on all the information you mentioned to the guy that will be welding this back together. I'm confident this will prove useful to him, but since I have no clue what you mean by some of the specifics, I can't agree/disagree.

But again, I greatly appreciate your input and will definitely pass it along.

Thanks,
Steve