Leak in 16' Aluminum Tinner

[AidanCorrigan]

Hi All,

I purchased a 16' Springbok Aluminum Boat the other day, when I arrived to purchase the previous owner brought up a "slight" inconvenience. This means that the Boat will collect a small amount of water when it sits in water for a few hours. He said the Bilge Pump can keep it afloat but I rather keep the interior as dry as possible. Especially since this boat will be parked on my dock for the entire summer. The location of the Leak is unknown, I have removed the "flooring" that was installed to help with this.

Looking for any advice on how to identify the Leak location and once identified how to rectify this issue?

Appreciate any knowledge.

 

[flatheadsteve]

Any thru hull fittings? Have you tried different drain plugs? Does the boat have a livewell? Is filling the hull with with water while on trailer a possibility? Is this a riveted hull or welded old rivets can come loose and leak welds can have tiny cracks that allow water in.

 

[airshot]

Remove floors and anything in the way, put boat in water and mark where leaks are....figure out how to fix them.

 

[thill]

The above advice is good. I had a similar model of Princecraft, and it leaked around the drain plug when I first got it, so I bought a drain tube kit and expander and replaced it, and it's been bone-dry ever since.

Great boats, and welcome to Tinboats!

 

[Crazyboat]

Take the boat out of the water, dry the outside of the hull extensively. Once done with that, fill the hull to the waterline with water and watch to see what gets wet.

 

[airshot]

Take the boat out of the water, dry the outside of the hull extensively. Once done with that, fill the hull to the waterline with water and watch to see what gets wet.

Many smaller tinnies would have an issue with that much weight sitting on a trailer. I would much rather test the boat sitting in the water. Very easy to see wet spots developing...

 

[Crazyboat]

Many smaller tinnies would have an issue with that much weight sitting on a trailer. I would much rather test the boat sitting in the water. Very easy to see wet spots developing...

2 or 3 horses with a couple of 2"X4" run across them will easily hold the boat and weight, assuming you built your horses correctly. I've done it, never had an issue. But if someone feels it's not a good solution, feel free to drop her in the water and wait. The problem there is, if you have flooring or decking you may have to remove it all. My way, you see exactly where the leaks are.

 

[airshot]

2 or 3 horses with a couple of 2"X4" run across them will easily hold the boat and weight, assuming you built your horses correctly. I've done it, never had an issue. But if someone feels it's not a good solution, feel free to drop her in the water and wait. The problem there is, if you have flooring or decking you may have to remove it all. My way, you see exactly where the leaks are.

Still have to mark them in some way, now if you have a floor/ carpet it will be all wet....so still have to remove that stuff anyway. The last one I did this to, once floated off the trailer, I sat there with a marker. Majority of the keaks were comming around rivets. After touching each rivet with a marker, we put it back on the trailer and a buddy helped me restrike the marked rivets. Put the boat back in and checked for others. Once we had them all tight, I power washed the inside, let it dry then coated all rivets and seams with sealer. Never had another leak.....

 

[airshot]

2 or 3 horses with a couple of 2"X4" run across them will easily hold the boat and weight, assuming you built your horses correctly. I've done it, never had an issue. But if someone feels it's not a good solution, feel free to drop her in the water and wait. The problem there is, if you have flooring or decking you may have to remove it all. My way, you see exactly where the leaks are.

Not trying to argue here, but I have saw many hulls stressed by filling with water as well as damaged traikers.
Folks don' t realize how heavy that water can be !! Most have some type of floor that needs to come out anyway.
Just don't want a new boat owner to destroy his hull without realizing just how much weight he is putting in there.

 

[Crazyboat]

Still have to mark them in some way, now if you have a floor/ carpet it will be all wet....so still have to remove that stuff anyway. The last one I did this to, once floated off the trailer, I sat there with a marker. Majority of the keaks were comming around rivets. After touching each rivet with a marker, we put it back on the trailer and a buddy helped me restrike the marked rivets. Put the boat back in and checked for others. Once we had them all tight, I power washed the inside, let it dry then coated all rivets and seams with sealer. Never had another leak.....

You can mark the outside of the hull with a grease pencil. If the hole is under a deck or seat, yes, you still have to remove it, if it's not, you saved yourself a ton of work.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

What crazyboat said. Boat on horses or trailer and run a hose in. You don't have to fill it to the gunwales, just a few inches. On horses, the boat can be tilted so the water covers different sections. On a trailer simply use the jack to tilt it and check front and rear. It's almost never the side rivets, usually on the bottom or something on the transom. Mark the leaking spots and if it's a rivet, re-bucking often tightens it up sufficiently.