# question on a small leak repair on an Alum boat for you all.



## lukeD (May 29, 2013)

got a little john boat i use on the river here to trap out of during the winter. its got a pretty good split in one of the ribs up front that leaks pretty good. short of having it welded what would be a good way to seal it up. boat aint worth much at all its jsut a little 14' john that my dad used to have but i need to get the leak fixed. anyone know anything that you can use to seal it? i thought about trying some of the Quicksteel that Oreilly sells but not sure if it would work or not. anyone got any ideas?


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## J Hartman (May 29, 2013)

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=316500#p316500 said:


> lukeD » Today, 13:35[/url]"]got a little john boat i use on the river here to trap out of during the winter. its got a pretty good split in one of the ribs up front that leaks pretty good. short of having it welded what would be a good way to seal it up. boat aint worth much at all its jsut a little 14' john that my dad used to have but i need to get the leak fixed. anyone know anything that you can use to seal it? i thought about trying some of the Quicksteel that Oreilly sells but not sure if it would work or not. anyone got any ideas?



If it is taking on a lot of water I would say just have it welded, it really shouldn't cost a whole lot to get it done... I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper to weld that one than to buy a new one.


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## Novicaine (May 29, 2013)

Yep, pay a welder to fix it. A lot of welders won't touch aluminum boats, though, so call around. They'll need to be skilled with tig to repair most of these thin boats. 
Short of that, you can use an aluminum patch with silicone or something and rivet it on with closed aluminum rivets... You'll need to order them online though, most stored wont carry them. That patch, if done right, will be stronger than the weld.


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## semojetman (May 30, 2013)

Where are you located?

there is a shop here in my area that welds on aluminum boats fairly cheap.


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## Canoeman (Jun 2, 2013)

As said.. get it welded.. then if you do find a individual/shop that can weld aluminum spread the word to keep them around.

I have a local shop with a guy who can weld aluminum as good as the manu.. he is awesome!!


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