# Beat up Valco



## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

I was given a 14ft. Valco and trailer, basically just to get it off the Ace Hardware property and thought I'd take a crack at getting it back to being sea-worthy.
This is going to be a long... long process, I think.
I've started by completely stripping down to bare metal, removing all of the old fix attempts, pulling the wood and removing all lower seat rivets (since every one leaked.)
I really like some of the Valco conversions I've seen in this forum, so that's my goal.
Thinking about removing the center bench and installing a deck to take the stress off the lower rivets.
I'm completely open to any ideas!


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

Stripped the paint and corrosion off the sides. Took about four days, working a couple hours a day. I used a couple 3M Sanding Paint & Rust stripping pads and a wire brush (both attach to a drill.)
I found the wire brush easiest and most effective to use. Plus, it doesn't wear down like the 3M pads.


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## smackdaddy53 (Sep 13, 2014)

Wire wheel all that crud off the bottom and either tighten rivets with a bucking bar and rivet gun, weld them all or drill out bad rivets and buck new solid rivets to fix them. Or a little of all three. 
Doing it right the first time is best!


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

Drilling out rivets and cutting off rusted bolts that the previous owner used to patch holes.
Sanded every rivet point to remove old tar, sealer and what I think is Marine Tex.
Tried brazing a couple holes/cracks, but the metal is too thin. Talked to a local welder/fabricator and he said that aluminum boat skin is almost impossible to weld.


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

Working on the transom...


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

There were some pretty significant holes and cracks in the old rivet spots on the bottom.
I attempted to braze a few, but it failed miserably.
Bought some Marine Tex at $45 a can, but before I opened it, I found another product called PC-11 which can be applied underwater, etc. and hardens up like Marine Tex.
It was $6.45 and comes in smaller tubes than i can get Marine Tex locally, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
It seams to work very well and has bonded to the metal. Still need to sand it down.
I've filled all of the holes in the aft section, so tomorrow I'll turn the boat over and water / flex test it.


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

I absolutely love what LMBDave did here:
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=32024

My end game is something similar.
Anyone know how he attached the wood stringers, particularly in the forward, tapered section?


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## smackdaddy53 (Sep 13, 2014)

A good aluminum welder can weld that for you, they have to be good to not blow through but it is possible. The area he is welding has to be super clean. Use a stainless wire cup brush on a grinder and have him weld it right away.


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 13, 2014)

I did some calling around, they're wanting around $350 to weld it... not paying that much for a free boat.
I'll see how the PC-11 works out, if it doesn't... I'm going for the new boat for $1500. Won't be as much fun as customizing one, but at least it'll float.


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## smackdaddy53 (Sep 14, 2014)

Holy crap! A professional welding shop charges about $70-80 per hour. I guess they plan on milking it.


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## aeviaanah (Sep 14, 2014)

Looking good man! That was interesting to see the old sticker under the boat. I made my own replacement decal if your interested in the file. 

Good luck man looking forward to see the finished!


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 14, 2014)

Any stability problems with building the deck over the middle and front bench?


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## aeviaanah (Sep 16, 2014)

[url=https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?p=366219#p366219 said:


> HendersonPhoto » 14 Sep 2014, 18:50[/url]"]Any stability problems with building the deck over the middle and front bench?


No, my valco with deck is very stable. Just don't go much higher than factory bench height.


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## vtw45 (Sep 16, 2014)

Try brazing (Alumaloy.com) for the cracks and holes.
It worked for me.


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## DacMan (Sep 18, 2014)

What an amazing looking hull, I love the way it looks. Great work so far.


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## HendersonPhoto (Sep 22, 2014)

Leak checking the aft end of the boat after new hardware and applying PC-11.
Looking pretty good. Still leaking rivets at the base of the transom support in the center, but I knew they were there and haven't worked on 'em yet.
All the places I have repaired held up.
Time to start planning the new flooring layout.
Still not sure how to (or if I should) attach new wood foundation to the hull...
I'd love to hear from anyone who has reconfigured the seating inside.


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 24, 2015)

Well, fire season ran into Halloween, which turned into Christmas, which turned into spring... boat work virtually non-existent.
But, I've ramped it back up to full speed now, hoping to have this project completed by the end of April.
Here's what I've been doing:
- Since most of them were leaking, or at least shady looking, I drilled out every rivet on the bottom of the boat, replacing them with new rivets, coated with 3M 5200 Marine Sealant. Many of them needed washers as the holes had been worn too big for the rivets, JB welded all of those.
- Added 1 inch, 90 degree aluminum angle-stock at the base of every seat support, most of the rivets were pulled out and the aluminum on the seats had bent and broken. Clearly a weak spot in this design. I riveted to the bottom of the boat and to the bast of the stock bench seats.
- Drilled out several running cracks on the bottom and used JB Weld on both sides of the cracks.
- Coated every seam and rivet on the boat with Flex-Seal, inside and out.
- Found a crack on the bow that leaked during testing, JB Welded that on both sides, about five inches on either end of the crack.
- Cleaned the entire outside of the hull with Acetone and sprayed two coats of Self-Etching Primer.
- Painted lower half and bottom of the hull with two coats of gray Ace Rust Stop oil-based paint. Keep in mind that the oil based paint is getting harder and harder to find here in California. Ace is slowly replacing oil-based Rust Stop with a water-based, latex version. (Boo)
- Next step, paint the top half a nice Red, again oil-based Rust Stop.


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 24, 2015)

Here are some photos:


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 24, 2015)

A couple more photos:


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 24, 2015)

Aaand the final exterior paint!
I can't wait to get the red on it!


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 24, 2015)

Oh yeah... found out that the trailer was complete junk... surprised it didn't fall apart on the way to my house.
So, I'm in the market for a new (used)(cheap) trailer.


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 25, 2015)

Gray is done, first coat of Red done.


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## muzikman (Mar 25, 2015)

starting to look curiously interesting....

....anxious to see the final shots!

you've given this a LOT of work, where others would have deemed it a basket case not worth fixing - I commend your determination! =D> =D> =D>


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 26, 2015)

Oh I determined a long time ago that this boat is a basketcase... but I'm stuborn, and this has been a great learning opportunity.


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## fishin_magician (Mar 26, 2015)

Hahahah man yes I agree with the previous post... I like you no quit attitude it is going to be a really good feeling when you're on the water... Keep us posted


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## HendersonPhoto (Mar 26, 2015)

Finished up the second coat of the Oil-Based Rust Stop Red today.
Does it look like a professional painted it? No.
Does it look good from far away? Hell yeah!

Tomorrow I plan to build something to rest it on, so I can start working on the inside.
I plan on first, spraying a couple coats of bed liner in there. Swear to god if this thing still leaks after all this, the next thing I post will be a video of it blowing up.
I'd like to add a deck from the bow seat forward, but unsure at this point how to support it.
Any ideas would be appreciated.


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## Abraham (Mar 28, 2015)

That sure looks nice. Good on you for bringing one back from the scrap yard too. Looking forward to your progress on it :beer:


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## HendersonPhoto (Apr 17, 2015)

-Got the inside stripped, cleaned and primed with Self-etching Primer.
Did some testing on the bow with white Rustoleum for the edge.
-Looking at truck bed liner options to finish it with, probably Herculiner.
-Cutting new seat tops from 1/2 CDX, sealing with Thompson's Water Seal today.
-Designing bow floor supports to extend the front seat all the way forward. (Any ideas would be appreciated.)
I don't want to put a ton of pressure on the bottom where it is welded together, that's one of the areas that had a crack and was fixed with JB Weld.


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## HendersonPhoto (Apr 19, 2015)

Worked on aft bench today. Got the interior frame, top and storage doors built.
I decided to separate the bench to add storage on the outside compartments, while adding strength for the fishing seat since the base won't span the width of the bench.
Used 1/2 CDX and 2X4's, attached with stainless 8X2 3/4 screws and stainless finishing washers and 10in. brass piano hinges.
Sealed with Thompson's Water Seal.
Will attach top to the aluminum tomorrow with aluminum rivets and washers.


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## Gfoul (Apr 19, 2015)

very nice, I have a 14' Weastcoaster which is related to the Valco. Very nice job... boy they are fun


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