Aluminum jon boat repair??

[smalweld]

Took my little boat to Castaic on Friday and upon motoring along to the buoy line I noticed that if I didnt do something soon I would have my own livewell inside of the boat. I opened up the drain on the boat to drain some water out and started looking for the leak. Its below one of the bench seats that have foam under them. Is there any place that can weld up the hole that I somehow managed to get in there or should I just use JBweld and hope for the best. I live out in Riverside but will travel. Anyone have good luck with local welders??

Castaic is a huge lake but cant wait to get back there again. Gotta use up the bait that I now have in my fridge before the GF notices that I have sardines and worms in there :shock:

Sean

[Shock]

Is this a riveted or welded boat?

[smalweld]

Its welded

[DA_Beaut]

If the hole or crack was formed by stress/fatigue pay close attention to how you weld it. If it was caused by hitting something you shouldnt have a problem re-welding it.

The best way to repair a stress crack would be plating with with circular patch and then welding the patch on. A circular patch will distribute the load better than a square patch.

[POSTAL]

weld it ..but be carefull of setting the foam in the seat on fire

[smalweld]

Wound up going to worstmarine and getting some marine tex. Mixed it up and let it do its wonders. Seems like it's going to work. I filled the boat up with water and didnt find any leaks. :D
I was kind of afraid of starting the foam on fire. Besides this was cheaper. If it doesn't work then I will weld it up.

Sean

[SuperDank]

where do you live? I kinda had the same prob with my Aluminum boat. Took me days to find an aluminum welder that would work on my boat. I found this little mechanic shop in Echo Park, they weld aluminum engines, etc. They fixed my boat for $50.00

Let me know and I will try and get you that number.... I have to drive pass it.

[909er]

dude jb weld will work fine, I would take a small drill bit super small and drill a holle at the outer edges of the damage to ensure it doesn't travel