I have a 14 ft sea nymph aluminum boat and its starting to leak at the rivots along the perimeter of the base of the boat.

how can I fix this, just put a bead of marine silicone along the outside perimeter problem area or solder it? thanks Ben

I would say borrow or rent a rivet gun. Pull the floor out and replace the worst ones and rehammer the leaky ones. Then flip it over and Glovit the bottom. It's work but as long as you don't pound it in the waves or on the beach it won't leak again for a long time. If you don't want to do that use some sort of etching compound on the seams and 5200 marine caulk. I have done both and there may another solution I don't know of.

We used to to put a sledge hammer on one side and hammer the other side. Seemed to work for us although I certainly can't say it will work for you.

JimH has got it right....

I dont know if anyone has ever tried it or not, What about roof coating for Rv's? The stuff is flexible and waterproof... the only drawback would be the durability??? just an Idea...

Someone shoot it down if you've tried it and it doesn't work.

Gluv-it, an epoxy sealer made for sealing and filling cracks and holes, will work on wood, fiberglass or aluminum.

I'll second the epoxy sealer. Was getting little pin holes in my 14' aluminun. After giving it two thick coats of the sealent, there has been no leaks since. If I remember right, it was a marine sealer that you can find at marien supply stores.

Marine silicone worked for years on a riveted aluminum boat we had. How good of a job are you looking to do?

Sikaflex is the hot stuff!

There are numerous types so go to their sight online . I used to carry 5200, a piece of flashing,screw gun and a rivet gun for emergencys. Friend of mine smeared sikaflex on a piece of 1/4 inch plywood stuck it to the side of his boat (below waterline)

held it there for no more than a couple of minutes and we fished all day.
The plywood was still tight when we finished and we spent 30 minutes getting the stuff off! I'm a believer!

I'd say tighten the rivets put the sikaflex to it and you are set!



They also make bedding compound and other stuff, its worth the time to check out the site.



herm

Thank you for the tip herm. I have a 16' smokercraft disasembled right now and was re-riviting and assembling it with aluminum floor instead of wood. After visiting Sika's site I will be using that instead of 5200. I have used their product before with cedar siding and was impressed, did't know about the marine line.

You also can consider some of the industrial sealants and adhesives. Ashland makes several that will work well. What you need is good shear strength (elongation) as well as impact resistance.

Rockfish:

The following worked good for me:

materials-----drill, pop rivet gun, aluminium pop rivets(make sure they are the same size as what is in where now) and some good marine calk.

1. drill out any bad rivets-----many times just by partially filling the boat with water, the leaky rivets will show.

2. Put the marine calk/sealent around the head end of the rivet, fasten down.

It worked well for me, 14' Starcraft and 14' jet boat that I drilled thur the floor of, while installing some flooring. 1/8" hole let's a lot of water in.

Take your time and it should last for a long, long time.


"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

Get a bucket.

Fishslayer75 has a leaky old sled. He has a 500+ gph bilge pump. (and a bucket )

don't solder it. The heat will effect the factory sealant at all the seams and you'll be starting over from scratch at that point.

This is a sloppy method, but if you try it, it should fix the leaks.

First put enough water into the boat that the level is above the normal water level on the outside. Watch where the leaks develop and mark each rivet. If the rivet is really loose replace with another rivet or small bolt. When you replace rivets or want to seal a somewhat leaky one, try JB Weld. The stuff is epoxy based and will do the job.

The primary consideration is to find the source of the leak and deal with it instead of the entire bottom. Gluvit or other epoxy cures will do the job, but I don't think they are as efficient as finding the source and curing it there first.

Keith

Line-x

sika-flex, gluv-it, right on guys, gonna fill the boat with water and fix the problem rivots, and relace them if I have to, I mainly just want to not get my boots wet when fishing in it, its annoying when it fills with water, thanks for the info gentlemen, greatly appreciated, Ben

Where do you find this stuff and how do you apply it? Is it like a caulk? I was considering Glove-it because it looks easy to coat the seams and rivits by using a brush on process but if you can brush on Sikaflex, I might try that instead. I have already replaced the known leaky rivets in my old smokercraft, now Im just looking for added protection.