Waterproofing Aluminum Riveted Boats

[gare...@gmail.com]

I recently inherited a 14 foot aluminum riveted boat from a family
friend.
This boat is in decent shape and I was advised there are no current
leaks with this boat.
I am planning to fix this boat up a bit by putting in floor
boards/carpeting and a few swivel seats.

My question is, is there something I can spray or apply to the bottom
of the boat (inside) that will make it waterproof?
I watched a show on the channel World Fishing Network where a couple of
hosts sprayed something and made the boat waterproof. I just cant
remember what it is.

I am trying to avoid having to use putty or something to make bandage
solutions to any leaks.

This is my first boat so any help is much much appreciated.

Thanks,
Gary

[MMC]

I would think a good, thick paint on the outside of the hull would work
better than what you propose. Coal tar epoxy would seal it up real well and
not cost an arm and a leg.
MMC
<gare...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1158686940.2...@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...

[Whatmeworry]

The first thing that comes to mind is having it sprayed with Line X,
the bedliner coating. Not sure of the effectiveness of spraying the
inside though i have seen pics of it sprayed on the outside of a hull,
large workboats.

Lou

[Drew Dalgleish]

If it's not leaking why mess with it? The only place it can leak is at
the seams so spraying something on the whole boat probably wouldn't do
much. If the seams start to leak I doubt that anything sprayed on the
inside will keep the water back.

[gare...@gmail.com]

MMC..thanks for your advise.
I looked up this product on the net and it seems like if I do use this
I would be applying this along the seams where the rivets are inside
the boat.
Not sure where I can pick up this product and how much would be
required for a 14ft boat.

Gary

[gare...@gmail.com]

Hi Lou,

Thanks for the advise.
I called these guys and was asked to call the local office. They were
not able to provide me a price over the phone. This stuff looks and
sounds good however I am concerned about the costs to apply this
product. Since it is a older 14ft aluminum I did not want to spend over
75-100$ applying this. I will follow up with them and see if they can
quote me over the phone because I do not want to haul the boat all the
way to their office.

Gary

[gare...@gmail.com]

Hi Drew,

Thanks for your advise.
It is not leaking right now, but I wanted to do this for a preventative
measure so I do not have to deal with this later on. My plan is to wire
the bottom of the boat for my fishfinder/trolling motor and lights. I
also plan to put floor boards on the boat.
If it starts leaking after I have installed everything then I think it
might be a bigger problem fixing the leak(s) at that time.

Gary

[MMC]

Gary,
Think if you called a local paint store they'd be able to hook you up. I
mentioned coal tar epoxy as it's the cheapest way to go with epoxy, but I
used Sherwin Williams "Marine Industrial Coating" epoxy for barrier coat on
my big FG boat and it's done a great job for less than half the cost of
anything sold at the boat stuff store.
If you're just doing seams, check out 3M 5200. Not sure about using on
aluminium, but if you use it on a plastic boat it's a real job getting it
back off. It's a polysulfide sealant and a heck of an adhesive.
MMC

<gare...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1158853942.7...@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...

[Alex]

5200 is probably the best choice, but you can buy brush-on/roll-on truck
bedliner goop for about $80 for a gallon, which is enough to do an entire
pickup truck bed. Applied on the outside of the hull to cover the wetted
area (i.e. below the waterline) it would certainly seal the hull from leaks
and add a bit of protection against abrasion, etc. It's available in colors
if you want to get a bit fancy. Look at JCWhitney.com or do a Google search
on "bedliner kit".

Alex

"MMC" <merl...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:UuBQg.2000$K02...@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...

[Bob]

gare...@gmail.com wrote:
> I recently inherited a 14 foot aluminum riveted boat from a family
> friend.

> Gary

Hi Gary;

In the 70s I got a free 18' Al Grumman canoe. It was thrashed thoughly
by a bunch of beer drinking cowboys from Bend, OR. A couple drift
boat guys suggested an epoxy product called Gluv-it. Its fairly
standard stuff in the PNW. The drift boat guys added since most the
ribs were broken, seems moved around, and most the rivets were loose
they suggested calking the obvious holes inside the canoe with sealant.

I got an additional 10 years of hard use out of the Grumman and then
passed it on to a geology guy in Elko NV.

Gluvit the outside.
Sealant for the rivets and seems on the inside.
I imagine if your boat moves really bad the epoxy will fail.
But......... hey it was a free boat. Be happy you have the opportunity
to have wet feet and enjoy.

Bob