Dock 1 Aluminum boat 0

[alpine8fisherman]

Have anyone successfully tried removing a dent from the hull of an aluminum boat or have experience dealing with an auto body shop on such dent removal? I tried calling a couple of places that specializes in :oops: removing auto ding without repainting and they do not want to deal with boats. Any useful information will be appreciated. :oops:

[POSTAL]

get a few rubber mallots one on the inside and one on the outside and bang away thats what I do

[dratsab]

how big is the dent?

i had my dent removed at a normal auto body shop. they did it the same way they did would a car's dent without drilling. i was told by the boat manufacturer not to have the aluminum drilled, pulled, and re-welded. so POSTAL's advice of rubber mallots is pretty dead on. either try it yourself or have a professional do it.

[alpine8fisherman]

Thanks Dratsab and Postal.

The dent is a 6 inch oval in shape as you would expect when bumping a corner of the dock and its depth in the center is approximately 1 inch. It is rather smooth without shape indent. It is in the mid side of hull section where support is minimum. It is also my plan to check with some auto shops. It is a fairly new boat so I am trying to keep it up and should have waited for the wind gust to die before heading into the dock, live and learn!

[Nessie Hunter]

Sick a toilet plunger on that and give it a yank... Dent gone... :D

[POSTAL]

if it is not creased(the dent) a rubber hammer will be a simple fix it will reshape easier than you thing just hold something soft or another mallot behind the dent as you hit it back in to cushion it so it doesnt go the other way :lol: .

[alpine8fisherman]

An update for those of you who may encounter a similar situation. I used an oak block approximately twice the size of the dent and slowly hammer using a rubber mallet from the inside of the hull. Meanwhile I had someone hold a equal size wood block on the outside of the hull over the dent to minimize deflection. I was able to get approximately 90 percent of the dent out. Due to metal stretch, the inside of the hull was completely flat while there were still a small dent visible from the outside. At this stage I believe it would require a person with auto/metal work skill to finish the remaining dent. So, I decided to stop before I screw it up. The dent is hardly noticeable because it is located where the boat name lettering. Now I can stop punishing myself for being in a stupidly hurry and fight the wind while docking. Hope this may be useful information for other aluminum boat owner.

[POSTAL]

god job seems like you got it down!! :D .Ill bet you feel better after getting rid of that dent :twisted:

[alpine8fisherman]

Yeah, Postal, you are right! My wife keep saying it's a fishing boat. Then I reminded her how she felt after she broke her heel on her favorite shoe then she can relate. Men and boys and all our toys!