Riveted hull repair ?

[Tin-Can]

I know many of you will say, get a boat with a welded hull. And if I had the $$, and was about 10 years younger, I just might do that. But I've had the "Tin-Can" for almost 14 years.  It has served me quite well. I've seen much older Lunds similar to mine that are still on the water.   But being a riveted hull (Lund) it has begun to have a minor hull leak from what I guess to be rivets starting to loosen.  I know it isn't from my plug leaking, and the leak isn't real severe but after a couple hours on the water, I can see water coming up in the plug well, to within about 2 inches of the deck.  I hit the bilge pump, and it pumps the water out very quickly.
But I'm thinking that maybe at the end of the season this coming fall, I would like to get my hull sealed somehow. From the inside under the deck I think would be the best. Exterior seal of the hull would just wear off on the trailer bunks. 
I am looking for a shop or someone with the tools and facility that I could pay a fair price to get this work done.  
I have not gone actively searching yet, and thought I might get some recommendations from the BFT family. 

Thanks in advance 

[elkantlers]

[castnshoot]

J B weld

[TiteLines]

I know many of you will say, get a boat with a welded hull. And if I had the $$, and was about 10 years younger, I just might do that. But I've had the "Tin-Can" for almost 14 years.  It has served me quite well. I've seen much older Lunds similar to mine that are still on the water.   But being a riveted hull (Lund) it has begun to have a minor hull leak from what I guess to be rivets starting to loosen.  I know it isn't from my plug leaking, and the leak isn't real severe but after a couple hours on the water, I can see water coming up in the plug well, to within about 2 inches of the deck.  I hit the bilge pump, and it pumps the water out very quickly.
But I'm thinking that maybe at the end of the season this coming fall, I would like to get my hull sealed somehow. From the inside under the deck I think would be the best. Exterior seal of the hull would just wear off on the trailer bunks. 
I am looking for a shop or someone with the tools and facility that I could pay a fair price to get this work done.  
I have not gone actively searching yet, and thought I might get some recommendations from the BFT family. 

Thanks in advance 

I used to seal mine with an epoxy made for repairing airplane wings. It was bulletproof. Ran it for years and sold the boat with no leaks. I can't recall where I got it, but you might be able to find it online...

[Gone Forever]

I have used aluminum gas welding rods and MAP gas to repair many boats at the BSA camp. It isn't the easiest stuff to work with until you get used to it, but it is the most permanent and durable fix you can do.
The rods are about $20 a pack and you must use MAP gas, not propane. Propane is barely hot enough and by the time you get things heated up they are about to melt. MAP burns much hotter so you can heat the area and melt the rod before the heat spreads very far from your repair spot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIKsDfRAcs

[Tin-Can]

Thanks all for the various suggestions. I have considered most of them. The common problem(s) with all of them is, 
 I think to do the job effectively I would need to remove the decking from the inside of the boat. I don't have either the work space, tools, or the physical ability to do that kind of work anymore. So I was looking for a shop or an individual that could do the work for a reasonable price.  

[steelhawk]

I've never been there, but Roger's Performance Marine in Centerville sells Lund boats. Maybe they can help you.

[FishfulThinkin]

I had Bass Tracker TX17 (riveted hull) with exact same problem. I could easily pump out the seepage when fishing but when I left it tied to the houseboat at Lake Powell I had to get up in the middle of the night to pump it out or it would be way above the floor boards or worse in the morning. That's when I said enough. I didn't want to pull the floor out either so I crawled under it and found the seam where it was leaking. Was pretty easy to spot because the rivets were stretched to the point that they were actually loose in one area. I decided to try sealing it from the outside so from under the boat still on the trailer I put a nice bead of 3M 5200 along that area and let it cure. It didn't eliminate the entire problem but it slowed it way down. I could easily leave it on the water all night after that and only have a few gallons to pump the morning instead of 200 gallons like before. That 3M 5200 is pretty good stuff and even though it was right on the bottom of the hull, it never came off and lasted several years until I sold the boat.

[Gone Forever]

You may also want to give some local welding shops a call. A professional welder may be able to tig an aluminum patch on the outside of the hull while it is on the trailer. Biggest problem I can imagine with that is that if the hull is foam filled beneath the floor or if there is any other flammable material inside that could ignite from the heat of the welding.
I've used Bouchard in SLC before and been pleased with their results.

I know many have fished with you and know what the inside of your boat looks like, but I do not. Do you have a pic that could give an idea of what the floor that is in the way looks like and how it is attached?

[Tin-Can]

You may also want to give some local welding shops a call.  A professional welder may be able to tig an aluminum patch on the outside of the hull while it is on the trailer.  Biggest problem I can imagine with that is that if the hull is foam filled beneath the floor or if there is any other flammable material inside that could ignite from the heat of the welding.
I've used Bouchard in SLC before and been pleased with their results.

I know many have fished with you and know what the inside of your boat looks like, but I do not.  Do you have a pic that could give an idea of what the floor that is in the way looks like and how it is attached?

   The decking is marine grade plywood covered with vinyl and attached to the ribs and longerons by flush rivets. 
 I don't think there is any flotation foam between the deck and hull in the bilge cavity, but I can't be positive without pulling up the decking.  The photo below shows one edge of the decking against the live well box.   

    

All of the floatation foam is in the forward bench and the 2 rear side areas. 

         

---

I had Bass Tracker TX17 (riveted hull) with exact same problem. I could easily pump out the seepage when fishing but when I left it tied to the houseboat at Lake Powell I had to get up in the middle of the night to pump it out or it would be way above the floor boards or worse in the morning. That's when I said enough. I didn't want to pull the floor out either so I crawled under it and found the seam where it was leaking. Was pretty easy to spot because the rivets were stretched to the point that they were actually loose in one area. I decided to try sealing it from the outside so from under the boat still on the trailer I put a nice bead of 3M 5200 along that area and let it cure. It didn't eliminate the entire problem but it slowed it way down. I could easily leave it on the water all night after that and only have a few gallons to pump the morning instead of 200 gallons like before. That 3M 5200 is pretty good stuff and even though it was right on the bottom of the hull, it never came off and lasted several years until I sold the boat.

  Seeing all of the rivet lines on the bottom of hull of my boat is difficult when it's on the trailer. The trailer bunks are positioned in such a way that one side of each of the 2 rows of rivets is sitting directly on one of the rivet lines.  
I have a couple possible places that could do the work I'm looking for.  If not, I'll attempt to do the work myself over the winter in the storage unit. 
Thanks for the info and input.

---

I've never been there, but Roger's Performance Marine in Centerville sells Lund boats. Maybe they can help you.

   Yes, they took over Lund when Peterson in Ogden closed. I am waiting for a return call from them.

[Mildog]

I fixed a leaky riveted aluminum duck boat years ago by using JB weld on the bottom by coating the suspect leaky rivets with some overlap onto the bottom. I used a little sand paper to give it some texture to stick on to. I worked in batches to make sure the Jb weld could flow/seep into any cracks around the rivets. I did this to about 30 rivets. To my surprise it worked great and lasted for years. I was able to flip that boat over which made it easier. I think if you could get access to the rivets from underneath I think it would work. A pretty inexpensive option, might be worth a try. If using an aluminum welder make sure they are very experienced with aluminum welding on a boat. I once had a welder “blow” several holes in the bottom of an aluminum boat by mistake when he was doing some welding work on a boat I have. It ended up being a hole repair job which he was able to eventually do and the boat is leak free.

[Outfishing13]

Hi Tin Can,

I had a 1978 Star Craft I bought used about 12 years ago. It too was a riveted hull. It had a similar issue and with a good bilge pump I wasn't too worried.  But I started looking for a solution.

I found closed-end pop rivets and got the right size. I think mine were 3/16 which is the most common size.  Then  I started a close inspection of the bottom of the boat.  I found about a dozen rivets that were either loose and 2 or 3 that were gone.  I drilled out the loose ones and replaced to the closed-end rivets.  

I was really happy with the repair. My boat would stay dry except for splashes.

I figured that once those rivets started getting loose, then more rivets would get loose and snap off.  It is really important to have them completely repaired.  

I used the pop rivets since I did not want to take the deck wood off to try using a compression type of rivet like on a plane or the original rivets.  

I later sold the boat and bought a regular fishing boat with a 4 stroke. It is an Alumaweld, so I don't deal with rivets anymore.

You can find the closed end rivets on the web.

Matthew

[Catdaddygarlic]

Years ago I bought a riveted aluminium Richline boat it was 1969 I was just out of the Army. After many years of use it started to leak and the kids named it the brown leakier. I bought a new boat and gave the brown leakier to my son too use , I got it back 10 years later and you needed to wipe up the water and wring it out every wonce and a while manual bilge pump hehehe. I ask a fellow down at Cabelas if they had anything to fix leaking aluminium boats and he said yes. He came out of the back and had two green sticks of something and said get your propane touch heat the rivet and area around and apply this just like a glue. Clean around the area first that was ten years ago and you can walk around in your stocking feet now in the boat. They stoped selling it at Cabelas but you can buy it at Memphis Net and Twine Co 1-8oo 238-6380 its called Aluminum Boat Repair Stock No ABRR for just the sticks its all you need Wire brush or drill moter with one is all you need

[unluckytwo]

if you can access the rivet then use a pneumatic rivet gun. it is a 2 person job. one to support from underneath and one to hammer them from above. If you can't access them then the closed end rivets are the way to go. I have bought them online. drill old rivet out and replace. some add a touch of sealant to the rivet but I have not. If you have 3/16" you can pop them with a standard hand tool. 1/4" will need a pneumatic/powered or a large rivet gun.

[Realtorinutah]

I had the same problem with my 14 footer. The best, easiest, and most effective thing to do is to go to home depot and buy self leveling caulk. It'll seal up any leaks and flow to the hard to get to places and it lasts!