spine of my boat is leaking

[Red-Eye]

I have a 16 foot semi-v riveted jon, the previous owner of the boat had fixed the leaks in the boat with JB weld. It has several leaks down the spine of the boat. Unfortunately there's around 5-10 years worth of jb weld sitting on top of the leaks and now the jb weld is leaking. I've been putting some thought into removing all the jb weld on the spine of the bottom. So should i take a wire wheel on a drill to it or should i use a grinding wheel, or should i just take a hammer and a chizzle and etch it off. I am still young so i dont really have to much experience with JB weld. Also once i get the jb weld off i plan on getting it welded to fix the leaks but if that plan falls through, what do you guys think about using 3M 5200 marine sealant to fillin the cracks and leaks?

 

[WVfishnfool]

If you can grind it off without causing more damage then go for it. Then take it and get it welded. Or take it to the weld shop and let them grind it off and fix it because more than likely they're going to grind back further so the weld will take hold anyways.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Is the JB weld on the inside or outside of the hull?
If it on the inside I would chip, wire brush it off then coat the interior seams and rivets with "Gluvit". If the JB weld is on the outside of the hull you could leave it and coat the inside seams and rivets with the "Gluvit"

 

[T Man]

I would try and chisel it out if it is the WaterWeld. Regular JB weld is a crap shoot depending on how they mixed it and whether or not they scuffed it. Your best bet would probably be to grind it down close to the hull, use a knotted brush on a grinder to get the bulk down to the aluminum, then use a crimped brush to finish it off. Cheap fixes always cost more in the long run.

 

[Red-Eye]

the jb weld is on the outside of the boat.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Look in to a product called Gluvit. It's an epoxy applied to the seams and rivets on the inside of the boat.

 

[T Man]

Red-Eye » 52 minutes ago[/url]"]the jb weld is on the outside of the boat.

I would use 5200 only because I dont have any experience with gluvit. Clean the area really well, sand with 80 grit to rough up the leak and a few inches around it, wipe it down (no alcohol) and then apply the 5200. I had an 8" long crack where my transom meets the floor that I repaired this way and it is leak free after using it last summer and this winter breaking ice. Welding would have been the correct way to fix it but my welder wanted the boat completely de-rigged to do the work. Welding the seam may also work, and would also be the correct way to fix it.

 

[sr71]

lckstckn2smknbrls » Today, 12:27[/url]"]Look in to a product called Gluvit. It's an epoxy applied to the seams and rivets on the inside of the boat.

Definitely agree with lckstckn2smknbrls -----> https://www.marinetex.com/gluvit.html
2lbs. covered every seam and rivet in my 14' tinny. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Red-Eye]

thank you all

 

[Red-Eye]

So ive been slowly getting some work done on the boat. I've been grinding off the JB Weld on the bottom of the boat with a wire wheel. I'm getting closer to being done and i have my 5200 marine adhesive coming in the mail. Though i had an old johnson rep come to check out my motor and he gave me a few ideas on what to do to seal the leaks. He said after i put the 5200 on it, maybe i oughta put a rubber-on or flex seal style paint on the leaky section of the boat. HE didnt say what brand though. SO wondering if any of you guys know what would be best to use. He said he wouldnt use a tuff coat type paint just because of all the flexing that goes on in a boat. Anyway here are some pics of the bottom of the boat to help get an idea of what im working with.

 

[rscottp]

lckstckn2smknbrls » 28 Feb 2014, 12:27[/url]"]Look in to a product called Gluvit. It's an epoxy applied to the seams and rivets on the inside of the boat.

+1 Gluvit is great because it seeps into to seams and rivets to stop the leaks. 5200 it good stuff but only sits on top.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

There's a right way to fix it and a wrong way, a spray, rubber type paint/sealer is the wrong way.

 

[Red-Eye]

Well i would be using the gluvit however my floor and deck are still on the boat. I plan on redoing the boat afyer this fishing season. Then i will be putting gluvit down on the floor

 

[onthewater102]

Be very careful - the set JB weld is likely harder than the aluminum, even if it was poorly done. Any mechanical method you try - scraping, sanding, grinding is going to be harsh on the aluminum if you miss the JB weld.

I had an old 12' row boat where the leaks were really bad so I wasn't worried about burning out any puddy material between the riveted pieces of aluminum, so I took a torch to the aluminum to remove JB weld that was slopped on over time by previous owners...it was a bit of a beater boat so cosmetics weren't an issue. I applied an aluminum solder over the leaking rivets which worked well but was a pain in the *** to get the aluminum hot enough and warped the aluminum if you weren't careful (learned the hard way not to heat up anything but riveted rib sections). Probably would have worked better on a thick-skinned Alumacraft than the Sea Nymph I was working with.

JB Weld is an epoxy product, so expect similar issues with other products - though it sounds like the proper prep-work wasn't done for the JB application. At the end of the day actually welding or replacing the rivets is the only way to go if you want a quality end result.

If the rivets are all beneath the flooring you can try a "closed end blind rivet" https://www.rivetsonline.com/rivets-en/blind-rivets-en/closed-end-blind-rivets.html and put a small dab of silicone caulk in between each connection for added security. If you go this route you're best bet will be to drill out the entire rib, caulk each hole, then rivet back in place. On the plus side these are "pop-rivets" which can be done by one person working from one side of the boat, downside is the protruding rivet backside into the boat compartment - but as I said, if you've decked everything you won't see anything on the inside of the boat so it's a non-issue.

 

[Red-Eye]

There's a right way to fix it and a wrong way, a spray, rubber type paint/sealer is the wrong way.

im interested to see why you say thats a bad plan. IMO if its just a layer over the stuff actually stopping the leaks then what would it hurt to put some on.

 

[Red-Eye]

Just doing some looking around and came across this stuff . https://www.net4sale.com/Shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=12&idproduct=48 has anyone else used this, or does anyone have any ideas on how well this would work

 

[rscottp]

Red-Eye » 24 Mar 2014, 23:32[/url]"]Just doing some looking around and came across this stuff . https://www.net4sale.com/Shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=12&idproduct=48 has anyone else used this, or does anyone have any ideas on how well this would work

It doesn't seem to be waterproof. I would stick with products designed for marine use.

 

[onthewater102]

Red-Eye » 24 Mar 2014, 23:18[/url]"]

There's a right way to fix it and a wrong way, a spray, rubber type paint/sealer is the wrong way.

im interested to see why you say thats a bad plan. IMO if its just a layer over the stuff actually stopping the leaks then what would it hurt to put some on.

It's a bad plan because the reason for the leaks is that the fasteners that give the hull stiffness are loose enough for water to pass through. Judging by your photo it isn't an isolated occurrence either. This will ultimately result in these areas weakening to the point that even if you coat them in epoxy or rubber goo they will move/flex underneath and the coating will crack or bubble off - making the whole effort a waste and leaving your boat a bigger mess than it was to begin with having the JB weld all over its underside.

If you're applying one of these coatings it will buy you time, but it's not a permanent fix. The epoxy coatings are a longer lasting band-aid, but ultimately will fail a few years down the line and will cost roughly the same $$ as fixing it properly would have in the first place (some rivets and a few $1.50 tubes of silicone aren't budget busters.)

These coatings will help a properly sealed boat stay that way longer by protecting the rivets from moisture & damage in the first place.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Red-Eye » Mon Mar 24, 2014 10:18 pm[/url]"]

There's a right way to fix it and a wrong way, a spray, rubber type paint/sealer is the wrong way.

im interested to see why you say thats a bad plan. IMO if its just a layer over the stuff actually stopping the leaks then what would it hurt to put some on.

The problem is if it fails you now have to try to remove a rubbery, tarry mess just to get back to the original issue.

 

[onthewater102]

not if...when