# leaky rivets.....an after thought



## kalninm (May 23, 2018)

So I have a few leaky rivets on my hull, being that I already have it put back together and completed on the inside the rivets, Cant get to the rivets to replace them, and I know its not the best way but I am looking for an easy fix for this. I was thinking about wire brushing around the rivet to clean off the paint around it, then coating it with epoxy and letting it cure. What I'm more concerned about though is I have two hairline cracks in the hull about 3" long. Couple options I was considering include RTV, Epoxy, or welding. What concerns me with welding is I have sheet foam on the other side of the hull and I like to keep my boat not on fire. Any thoughts on this stuff? Yes I know this is like cutting corners but I never did a leak test and now I'm paying for it but the boat is not getting disassembled.
Thanks guys


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## CedarRiverScooter (May 23, 2018)

No goo is going to stop that crack from growing.

Seeing that you don't have access to inside of hull, I would clean up the area & apply an exterior patch of aluminum material, at least 2 inches bigger than the crack all sides. Use 3M 5200 on primed surfaces. Pop rivet the patch on with 5200 wet (no hurry, it stays wet for a full day!). Put 5200 over the rivets too.

Good luck


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## DaleH (May 23, 2018)

Ditto, but drill out the ends of the cracks to stop them from growing.

You could also use G-Flex 650 flexible epoxy. It will weep into places that 5200 will only ‘cover’. Personally, I find LifeCaulk by BoatLife Company to be an equivalent product to 5200, but can be found cheaper and the tubes last 2-3X longer.

But if it were mine, I’d be using the G-Flex, lookie here: https://www.forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=40954&hilit=G+flex+650


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## kalninm (May 24, 2018)

So drilling out the cracks and adding the G-flex? That's it or is the patch still necessary?

And just curious you say aluminum material for the patch? Is this different than just normal aluminum?


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## DaleH (May 24, 2018)

Yes, I’d still apply a patch. 

Send me the size you need and I can send you 2 pieces of 5052 alloy, same as your hull.


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## kalninm (May 24, 2018)

I appreciate the offer but I still have quite a bit of Aluminum laying around that I took out of the boat, so in theory that should work. And I just want to use the aluminum to sandwich the epoxy? then rivet it together? Is that pretty much the gist of it?


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## davedude (May 25, 2018)

Would some glass cloth and epoxy resin work to patch the cracks? 
Since I laminated my new transom boards with the Raka stuff I been finding all kind of other uses for it. Wonderful stuff.
I just don't know how well it would adhere to bare aluminum or how long it would last in an exterior hull underwater location.
I do like the pop-riveted aluminum patch sealed with 5200 suggestion--sounds good to me.


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## DaleH (May 25, 2018)

davedude said:


> Would some glass cloth and epoxy resin work to patch the cracks?
> Since I laminated my new transom boards with the Raka stuff I been finding all kind of other uses for it. Wonderful stuff.
> I just don't know how well it would adhere to bare aluminum or how long it would last in an exterior hull underwater location.
> I do like the pop-riveted aluminum patch sealed with 5200 suggestion--sounds good to me.


Raka is awesome stuff for sure and all of the boaters I know in my area use that in place of West Systems for typical repairs, even when installing complete new full transoms in 'cut out' boats that had OBs mounted on the stern, or when glassing in I/O holes to convert the hull to OB on a bracket.

However, that *G-Flex 650 is a FLEXIBLE epoxy *and that is something Raka does not have. For sure you could use a cloth saturated with G-Flex and put into place. But read up on patching tin boats using that G-Flex by the link I posted, as that's how I'd do it.


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## CedarRiverScooter (May 25, 2018)

The advantage to the riveted patch is that you always have the mechanical connection even if the chemical bond fails.

Just FYI, yesterday I was under my jet -jon fixing a pinhole leak (from my rebuild last fall). During the install, I had piled up a tall bead & it still didn't fully wet out in 1 spot. So buyer beware - maybe the G-flex is the way to go.


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## eshaw (May 25, 2018)

kalninm said:


> So drilling out the cracks and adding the G-flex? That's it or is the patch still necessary?
> 
> And just curious you say aluminum material for the patch? Is this different than just normal aluminum?



Just wanted to make sure you understand that you stop drill the crack. You find the end of the crack where it's currently stopped and take a small drill bit and drill a hole at that spot. This should stop the crack from growing longer.


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## kalninm (May 25, 2018)

Yup I got that, however if I were to patch it with the .125" aluminum I have not that would be tough as all my cracks are just hairline cracks and jump from one rivet to another so the rivets would keep the patch off the actual body of the boat and where the crack is by a little bit. I could use the glass cloth like in the G-flex demonstration, but I was wondering would aluminum flashing work? Easy to form around the rivets, I can still rivet it in place as well, and cheap..... Just trying to figure out what to use as a patch. Also, if the crack jumps from one rivet to another but no further should I still drill it out maybe in the middle? Cause it's really just jumping from one hole to another. Last night I cleaned up the areas with cracks or leaky rivets and threw some 5200 one 5 of the 6 leaky rivets, the 6th one was still drying from my leak test on Monday.


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## DaleH (May 25, 2018)

Yes, in that article I uploaded by G-Flex it says you drill a round hole or file a round feature at the end of the crack. Look at the crack they repaired!


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## kalninm (May 25, 2018)

So I drew a quick pic on paint, is this ok? if I use the .125" aluminum I have this is what it is going to end up like with that big gap between the patch and the hull because of the rivet heads. Now if I used something like aluminum Flashing I may be able to get a better form fit around the rivet heads, or I can make the patch small and just lay it in between the rivet heads.... Thoughts?


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## CedarRiverScooter (May 25, 2018)

It would be helpful if you posted a picture of the cracked area


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## kalninm (May 29, 2018)

Fair point lol. However I think I got it all figured out and put the first of 3 patches on last night. Going to cut out and apply the other two on Wednesday most likely. Then it's just the waiting game.....if nothing else 5200 will teach you to have patience! Cure time is crazy long lol, thanks for all the input here. I''ll post up some pics on Wednesday with before and after shots along with the patch and how I did it.


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## kalninm (May 31, 2018)

Alright so last night I made and applied the other two patches I needed. This time I took pictures though since everyone loves pictures. So as discussed before, measured and cut out patches to fit over the cracks I had. I did also round the corners, get rid of any sharp edges and rough up the surface a little bit. Drilled out holes in the patches for the rivet heads in the hull to come out of so the patch would sit more flush on the hull. Drilled a hole at each end of both cracks to avoid the cracks spreading. Then added four 3/16" holes in the patches for the pop rivets, using the patch as a template I drilled the holes into the hull and applied a liberal amount of 5200 to the rivets and crack. Put the patch on and proceeded to apply a little 5200 to each pop rivet before putting it on the patch. Once I had that done I went back around the patch edges, pop rivet heads, and hull rivet heads with more 5200 that I smeared on with my fingers. Doesn't look very pretty but once it cures up I'll add some bedliner over it to match the rest of the hull.


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## thedude (May 31, 2018)

Looks good!


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## DaleH (May 31, 2018)

*Ouch *... but _you didn't PRIME or prep the repair spots beforehand as we advised _... 

Here's proof in pictures as posted by Johnny below, that 5200 can attack unprimed tin surfaces. If not a saltwater boat, leave as is, as you will likely sell it before it becomes an issue ...


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## kalninm (May 31, 2018)

I did clean the aluminum and rough it up with sandpaper I didn't use a chemical etch though. How would a chemical etch effect any reaction between 5200 and aluminum. Also no where on the tube did it say anything about prepping with a chemical etch, just to make sure there was some roughness in the surfaces to bond to, at least not anything I saw I'll put it that way. What specifically should I have done to prep it?


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## DaleH (May 31, 2018)

Typically here, we recommend zinc chromate acid etching before priming, painting or adding anything like epoxy or 5200.

But like I said ... don’t worry about it.


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## kalninm (May 31, 2018)

Alright, other than that thoughts? look ok?


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## DaleH (May 31, 2018)

kalninm said:


> Alright, other than that thoughts? look ok?


Yes, looks good!


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## CedarRiverScooter (May 31, 2018)

Looks plenty strong.

It should outlast your ownership!


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## kalninm (Jun 1, 2018)

If I had to redo that every year I'd be ok with it as long as the water doesn't come in anymore lol


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## kalninm (Jul 5, 2018)

Soooooo...... update time on my leaky friend quickly turning foe.....

Aside from the issue with the motor and trailer still she is still leaking....a lot....
My patches worked great no problems but looking closer now I believe it is my keel that is the problem. So I did a little looking around on here and pretty much it seems like I either clean off the whole keel area as best I can and use gluvit down it......or redo all the rivet with closed end blind rivets and 5200? Looking for any other options here. From previous owners there is a thick coat of bedliner and then flex seal on top of that down the length of the keel. 
The front and back of the keel leak a lot, so while my bilge pumps do plenty to keep up its annoying and a waste of battery when they run for 15 seconds every 2 minutes. So once again my arrogance is your opportunity to be my savior lol Help me out guys!
Thanks


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## CedarRiverScooter (Jul 5, 2018)

If you can ID where the worst leaks are (filling inside with water, for example), then you could just 5200 them & live with it for the rest of the summer. Maybe carry a bucket along in case pump fails.

Fall is a great time to take motor off, flip the boat & strip it down so you can do a permanent fix.


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## darrellswyatt (Jul 6, 2018)

Sounds like you have the same problem I have with a 95 pro 17 tracker I just bought. A leak test in the drive show that there was substantial leak from the keel area in several places. Mine was covered in all kinds of goop from end to end. Caulk, epoxy, and what looks like auto undercoating or bed liner and maybe seal flex. I just spent 5 days wire brushing all of that crap off. In the process I discovered that the keel shield does not actually seal to the bottom of the boat it is open at the rear. My initial plan was to seal all the rivet heads and then run a bead around the keel shield. After removing all the crap and seeing how its actually made, that would have been a waste on would not have fixed the leaks. The rivets are there to hold the keel to the bottom. Now my plan is to drill out all of the leaking rivets and replace with closed end blind rivets buttered with 5200. I think this will take care of it. I am also planning to removed the insides this winter and replacing the floatation foam and replace the blind rivets with solids. I am upping the rivet size to 1/4 as I figure the rivet hole are worn out larger than the 3/16 originals. 
I may be in error in doing this but thats what it looks like to me.


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## kalninm (Jul 8, 2018)

Thats a lot like what mine looks like too lol. Think I'll start taking the wire brush to it today and I'm thinking i'll try the roll on flexseal and see if that seals it up. If it does then maybe I'll coat it back over with bedliner to give it a little more durability. Easiest and cheapest solution to try first then we'll go from there I guess


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