CTFishTalk.com: Aluminum jon boat repair - Connecticut Boat Repair, Electronics, and Motor Help ( CT Boat Repair, Electronics, and Motor Help ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

therieldeal · Joined: 20 Oct 2010 Posts: 245 Location: Thompson, CT

Well… I’ve been thinking about getting a kayak, but yesterday a friend of a friend gave me his old ~10’ jon boat which he was planning to throw away. Looks like I’ll be holding off on the kayak for now Smile

. He’s had it for about 40 years, and always stored it upside down next to his driveway during the winter. Well, this year with all the snow he forgot exactly where it was, and nailed it with his snow plow. He hit it right in the center of the bow with the corner of the plow. It’s pushed in pretty far, perhaps 6 inches, but there’s no holes or tears in the aluminum. There’s no other accident damage aside from that front panel.

I’m hoping I’ll be able to either straighten out the existing aluminum, or cut it out and install a new piece. I know some skilled TIG welders who work with thin aluminum all the time. Does anyone here have any suggestions for attempting this type of repair? I’ll try to get a picture of the damage tonight.

One of the braces that runs across the bottom of the boat also has a crack, so I’ll probably need to drill out those rivets and replace the brace. Obviously I can’t use pop rivets since they have a hole in them… so I was thinking some small stainless steel nuts & bolts with silicone might do the trick? The transom board is also rotted, so I was hoping small nuts and bolts could be used on those rivets as well.

flippy · Joined: 25 May 2008 Posts: 1150

therieldeal, if you know somebody that does aluminum work,,, your all set, have him bang out the area, and if it breaks or cracks, he will be able to repair it,, why would you rivet pieces,,, if you know a welder????, if the crossmember is cracked,,, just weld it,,, sounds like your making way too much work for yourself,,,, Hell,, I know guys that repaired their little alummy jobs with matt fiberglass,,, and it lasted years..Good Luck

SkeeterRon · Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Posts: 1173 Location: Newington, CT

therieldeal,

Heres my .02 cents. Loctite make a product called H8000, it's used to assemble school buses and tractor-trailers box trailers. Very strong adhesive.

Here is a link to a link to a youtube video on how strong it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmJUgctvSAQ

In the video you will see has two Alum sheets bonded with H8000, it took over 200 hits with a bowling ball until the Alum split.

The adhesive NEVER failed.

If you PM me I can send you a "sample".
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Sleep...Eat...Fish!!!!! Then do it all over again.

therieldeal · Joined: 20 Oct 2010 Posts: 245 Location: Thompson, CT

WOW that stuff is impressive! luckily i may not need to glue or weld anything, reshaping the existing aluminum worked pretty well!

When I got it:

after drilling the rivets to remove the front seat:

after ~1 hour with a plastic hammer, a big clamp, and some love:

all i really need to do now is replace the front seat. i may just put some bracing in rather than an actual seat.... with a 250lb weight rating i wont be taking anyone else out with me anytime soon

flippy · Joined: 25 May 2008 Posts: 1150

There you go,,, you ought to be a bodyman...nice job

therieldeal · Joined: 20 Oct 2010 Posts: 245 Location: Thompson, CT

Thanks! We added some reinforcements and the boat is looking pretty good! I put a new transom board on this weekend (decided to use cedar for rot-resistance), so it’s pretty much ready to go. I’ll have to get some more pictures. Anyway I am looking for suggestions on registering this boat eventually…

Here’s the story. The boat was traded to a friend of mine for an 8 track tape deck… back in approximately 1973. The guy who traded it to him apparently had registered it at one time, as there are illegible remnants of faded/worn off registration numbers on the sides of the bow. My friend never registered the boat, he just used it to row around in small ponds.

In theory, since it was registered at one time, I would need bills of sale from both the original owner and my friend. The problem is my friend hasn’t talked to the original owner in many years, and doesn’t even know if he’s still around. Is there any way to get around needing the chain of ownership paperwork, since it was registered at one time? I saw the recent thread about registering a brand new canoe with a certificate of origin form. Could I use the same form in this case?

Also… will the DMV’s records even show an expired registration from almost 40 years ago? The boat does have a HIN on the back of the transom.

Thanks

asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

great recover bro!!!!!!!!!! aluminoy will fix that crack

ripline · Joined: 26 Feb 2012 Posts: 121 Location: Shelton

That straightened out incredibly well. Be sure to do the water test now.

Elevate the boat on sawhorses and fill it with water to what you think is the water line. Mark any leaks, empty the water, patch small leaks with marine tex and go fishing!

You can even use a pop rivet and marinetex over it on a little hole if you'd like, it's great stuff and I've used it on both my aluminum and glass boats. Anything major like a seam needs to go to your welder.

Good luck

marcusfond171 · Joined: 04 May 2012 Posts: 3

Hi, do you know any boat repair person in Perth area as I need one for my boat trailer. Last night when I went into sea it got struck into the water plants which damages it’s internal engine which speed up boat.
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