Welders wary of riveted boats!?

[Kris.J]

I have had two separate welders this morning say about the same thing:

Kris: I have an 12' aluminum boat in need of repair, can you weld aluminum?

Welder: Yes - is it riveted?

Kris: Um, yah - it's a riveted boat...

Welder: Those riveted boats have caulk in those seams where the rivets are - if I weld near a riveted seam it'll burn that caulk right out and you'll end up leaking worse than before.

Kris: Oh... really? I've been spending hours and hours reading about this and don't recall anyone mentioning this issue.

Welder: Bring the boat over to my shop so I can have a look at it.

Kris: OK thank you.

Here is my boat:
https://plus.google.com/photos/1067...s/5776685467728954161?authkey=CP7zxbyZ1pSbhwE

Is there any merit to what they are saying?
If so, the only weld of concern would be that crack in the prow looks like?

Thanks!

 

[Teamster]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

There is merit to what they said,...

However by the looks of your project a good welder should be able to fix it up,...

Then apply a healthy dose of "Gluvit" on the inside of the boat covering the repair,....

Just my opinion,...

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Is there any merit to what they are saying?

Yup. Many boat builders used an adhesive between the mating surfaces. On my Sea Nymph there is actually a rubber gasket in there.

Man, that is a big crack you got!

If I were in your shoes I'd grab an aluminum "patch", skim coat with 3M 5200, and rivet it over top of that.

There was a fella not long ago that did a whole series of patches like that. Do a quick search and you should find it.

Cheers!

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Man, that is a big crack you got!

If I were in your shoes I'd grab an aluminum "patch", skim coat with 3M 5200, and rivet it over top of that.

Yah no kidding! I learned last night now it got there: they used this boat for years on a little private lake. When done fishing, they would "power beach it" - point to shore, throttle up the motor then shut it off & pull it up so the skeg wouldn't hit bottom, and the prow would just grind up onto the beach. Foolishness!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

there are a bunch of stress cracks in the boat. you can only bend a beer can so many times.

however that is weldable.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Starcraft used something in the 60's called plyobond in the rivited seams. I think it was made by Goodyear. And we've seen some really heavy gooping of it in the "prow" area but I don't really see this in your boat.And it sounds like maybe your welders have had a bad experience in the past? And I do agree the welder should be able to fix you up. Besides, you're not gonna be out in 8 foot seas in this boat are you?

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

there are a bunch of stress cracks in the boat. you can only bend a beer can so many times.

however that is weldable.

Thanks Scott. This is my first boat, and I'm already working on the wife that "we'll probably be upgrading in a year or two..."

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Starcraft used something in the 60's called plyobond in the rivited seams. I think it was made by Goodyear. And we've seen some really heavy gooping of it in the "prow" area but I don't really see this in your boat.And it sounds like maybe your welders have had a bad experience in the past? And I do agree the welder should be able to fix you up. Besides, you're not gonna be out in 8 foot seas in this boat are you?

Haha nope! Southwest Lower Michigan inland lakes - that's it!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Kris,

keep an eye out. small aluminum boats on trailers are all over around here (Wisconsin and the UP). many in excellent shape for only a few hundred

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Kris,

keep an eye out. small aluminum boats on trailers are all over around here (Wisconsin and the UP). many in excellent shape for only a few hundred

Yah no kidding! This boat and trailer were literally right in my face, neighbor across the street - he was moving away and didn't want to move it, so he asked me for $50 bucks and I couldn't say no. Plus I am always into tinkering with something.

I had one of my buddies a few weeks ago say "Dude, this is Michigan - 80% of the population owns 3 boats, and 80% of those are trying to sell 5!"

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

I stopped by Lincoln's Welding in town yesterday while out and about for lunch.

I showed them the same series of pictures I linked above. They stated that they don't think they can weld that prow gash, because whatever sealant is in those riveted seams will cook out and interfere with their weld...

I told them I'd like them to try - I can reseal seams with Gluvit easily enough.
They are willing to see the boat in person and give it a shot I guess, but they sure didn't seem very enthusiastic about it.
I'm towing it over to them tomorrow morning - I wanted to this morning, but I didn't finish my trailer lighting last night.

*fingers crossed*

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

I showed them the same series of pictures I linked above. They stated that they don't think they can weld that prow gash, because whatever sealant is in those riveted seams will cook out and interfere with their weld...

That's a true story. If they have stuff heat up and bubble out while making the welds, the junk coming out has the potential to make a "dirty weld", which means the weld was contaminated, and is not as strong as a clean metal weld.

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

I wonder if it would be possible to just cut a large rectangle of sheet aluminum, hammer things out a bit straighter, then bend the "patch" over the keel there and weld around the edges. Then I'd fill the hole inside with JB Weld & go over the whole area with Gluvit.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

It looks like that boat literally had an explosion up there to bust that out like that.

If you have it welded, I would still have a patch put on the inside too. That wound needs all the extra reinforcement it can get.

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

It looks like that boat literally had an explosion up there to bust that out like that.

If you have it welded, I would still have a patch put on the inside too. That wound needs all the extra reinforcement it can get.

Here is how they did it:

They had a TEN HP motor on that boat, it's rated for 7.5HP max.
They used it for years on a little private lake, and when the fishing was done, they would "power beach" it.
Point toward shore, gun the engine, cut the engine off and pull it up so the skeg wouldn't hit bottom, and the boat would grind up on to the shore.

The aluminum eventually wore thin, then opened up, then he put JB Weld on the inside, then bathroom silicone caulk on top of that, then expanding spray insulation foam on top of that. It was a mess.

I'm a novice when it comes to boating - but goddamn I know better than that idiocy.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Thin tin means patch time.

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Thin tin means patch time.

I've already cut away all the thin metal - that gash is what's left over. It was like beer can thin, no kidding.

 

[ShowMeGuy]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Man... If I only had 50 bucks in that I'd recycle that and look for a new boat and keep the motor for the next one....

My experience with welders is that they ain't cheap...

Hopefully whatever you choose works out for you!!!!

 

[Kris.J]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

I've definitely considered that, but I don't really have the option to get another boat ShowMeGuy - wife issues...

I just dropped off the boat at Lincoln's Welding. I've been told the owner Lin has been welding for 50+ years and does excellent work.

Lin said he will fix up the transom and the seat cracks, but he won't touch the gash in the prow/keel.
He said from experience that the sealant will cook out where it's riveted and screw him up when he's trying to weld near it.

I even offered him a hundred dollar bill just to try it - on top of what he'd charge for the other stuff - and he declined.
He said he'd hammer it out to straighten it all up, then I'll have to figure out how to patch it up some other way.

Sooo.... can I fiberglass it?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Welders wary of riveted boats!?

Sooo.... can I fiberglass it?

Nah. Grab a chunk of alum, shape it some, spread on some 5200, rivet in place. All set